Average Weather in Ramallah Palestinian Territories

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4. Ramallah

In Ramallah, the summers are long, warm, arid, and clear and the winters are cold and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 40°F to 84°F and is rarely below 34°F or above 90°F.

The warm season lasts for 4.5 months, from May 26 to October 9, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest day of the year is August 8, with an average high of 84°F and low of 66°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 7 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature below 59°F. The coldest day of the year is January 26, with an average low of 40°F and high of 53°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Ramallah, 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 Ramallah begins around May 22 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 16. On June 29, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 0% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 16 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around May 22. On December 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 30% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% 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 Ramallah varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from November 15 to March 24, with a greater than 12% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 25% on February 1.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from March 24 to November 15. The smallest chance of a wet day is 0% on June 26.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 24% on February 1.

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. Ramallah experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from October 25 to April 10, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around January 7, with an average total accumulation of 2.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 10 to October 25. The least rain falls around July 11, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Ramallah varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 4 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:32 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 19 minutes later at 6:51 AM on October 27. The earliest sunset is at 4:34 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 14 minutes later at 7:49 PM on June 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Ramallah during 2017, starting in the spring on March 25, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 28.

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.

Ramallah experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from July 9 to September 25, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 4% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is August 18, with muggy conditions 16% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is February 20, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 predominant average hourly wind direction in Ramallah varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.5 months, from September 19 to November 5, with a peak percentage of 50% on September 30. The wind is most often from the west for 1.1 weeks, from November 5 to November 13 and for 9.3 months, from December 9 to September 19, with a peak percentage of 34% on November 6. The wind is most often from the east for 3.7 weeks, from November 13 to December 9, with a peak percentage of 35% on November 27.

Ramallah is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.6 months, from July 1 to October 19, with an average temperature above 78°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is August 25, with an average temperature of 83°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.9 months, from December 31 to April 28, with an average temperature below 67°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is March 2, with an average temperature of 63°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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from May 4 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 22, with an average of 8.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 5 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 24, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Ramallah are 31.900 deg latitude, 35.204 deg longitude, and 2,572 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Ramallah contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 919 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,658 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,153 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,482 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Ramallah is covered by sparse vegetation (36%), grassland (23%), trees (18%), and shrubs (17%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (26%) and grassland (22%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (23%) and water (20%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Ramallah, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Ramallah.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Ramallah according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Ramallah is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Ramallah and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Jerusalem Airport (98%, 3.8 kilometers, south); Ben Gurion Airport (1.3%, 32 kilometers, northwest); and Irbid (1.0%, 95 kilometers, northeast).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.