Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sotik Kenya

The climate in Sotik is warm and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 55°F to 80°F and is rarely below 52°F or above 85°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Sotik for warm-weather activities is from mid June to early October.

The temperature in Sotik varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

In Sotik, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sotik begins around June 14 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around October 1.

The clearest month of the year in Sotik is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 45% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 1 and lasts for 8.4 months, ending around June 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sotik is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 85% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sotik varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.1 months, from October 21 to May 24, with a greater than 44% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sotik is April, with an average of 18.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.9 months, from May 24 to October 21. The month with the fewest wet days in Sotik is July, with an average of 7.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Sotik is April, with an average of 18.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 66% on April 20.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sotik experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Sotik. The month with the most rain in Sotik is April, with an average rainfall of 7.6 inches.

The month with the least rain in Sotik is July, with an average rainfall of 1.2 inches.

The length of the day in Sotik does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 9 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 5 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 10 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:18 AM on November 4, and the latest sunrise is 31 minutes later at 6:49 AM on February 13. The earliest sunset is at 6:27 PM on October 31, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 6:57 PM on February 9.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Sotik during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Sotik, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Sotik does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.5 miles per hour of 5.5 miles per hour throughout.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sotik is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sotik throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sotik for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to early October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sotik for hot-weather activities is from mid January to mid March, with a peak score in the third week of February.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Sotik are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from January 26 to March 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sotik is February, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 19 to August 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sotik is June, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sotik are -0.683 deg latitude, 35.119 deg longitude, and 5,997 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sotik contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 489 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,870 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,870 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,112 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sotik is covered by cropland (65%) and shrubs (33%), within 10 miles by cropland (77%) and trees (13%), and within 50 miles by cropland (40%) and trees (29%).