Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Nandi Hills Kenya

The climate in Nandi Hills is comfortable and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 53°F to 79°F and is rarely below 50°F or above 83°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Nandi Hills for warm-weather activities are from mid August to early October and from late November to mid March.

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

In Nandi Hills, 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 Nandi Hills begins around June 23 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around October 5.

The clearest month of the year in Nandi Hills is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 40% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 5 and lasts for 8.6 months, ending around June 23.

The cloudiest month of the year in Nandi Hills is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% 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 Nandi Hills varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.0 months, from March 25 to November 24, with a greater than 45% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Nandi Hills is April, with an average of 19.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.0 months, from November 24 to March 25. The month with the fewest wet days in Nandi Hills is January, with an average of 5.7 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 Nandi Hills is April, with an average of 19.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 74% on April 29.

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. Nandi Hills experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Nandi Hills. The month with the most rain in Nandi Hills is April, with an average rainfall of 10.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Nandi Hills is January, with an average rainfall of 1.6 inches.

The length of the day in Nandi Hills does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 7 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 7 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 8 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:19 AM on November 3, and the latest sunrise is 31 minutes later at 6:50 AM on February 12. The earliest sunset is at 6:26 PM on November 2, and the latest sunset is 31 minutes later at 6:56 PM on February 12.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Nandi Hills 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 Nandi Hills, 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 Nandi Hills experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from November 5 to March 29, with average wind speeds of more than 5.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Nandi Hills is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from March 29 to November 5. The calmest month of the year in Nandi Hills is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Nandi Hills varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.6 months, from June 7 to August 26, with a peak percentage of 37% on July 26. The wind is most often from the east for 9.4 months, from August 26 to June 7, with a peak percentage of 71% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Nandi Hills 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 times of year to visit Nandi Hills for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid August to early October and from late November to mid March, with a peak score in the third week of January.

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 Nandi Hills for hot-weather activities is from early January to mid March, with a peak score in the last 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 Nandi Hills 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 2.1 months, from January 18 to March 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Nandi Hills is February, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from April 26 to August 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Nandi Hills is July, with an average of 5.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Nandi Hills are 0.107 deg latitude, 35.184 deg longitude, and 6,716 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Nandi Hills contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 925 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,657 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,163 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,444 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Nandi Hills is covered by cropland (59%) and trees (40%), within 10 miles by cropland (52%) and trees (33%), and within 50 miles by cropland (46%) and trees (29%).