Ash Shafā in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Ash Shafā sees average daytime highs around 25°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 91 mm of rain over about 13 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 71% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Ash Shafā's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Ash Shafā's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 25°C; coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low: 16°C
Rainfall: 91 mm; 13 wet days
Avg wind: 6 km/h
Travel score: 8.3; best season of the year
Months: Dec · Jan · Feb

← Fall Ash Shafā year-round climate Spring →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Ash Shafā in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C.

A typical winter day in Ash Shafā reaches about 25°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

How winter really feels in Ash Shafā

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Ash Shafā weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	24° / 16°	51	6	10.9	8.2
Feb	26° / 17°	13	2.6	11.3	8.5
Mar	29° / 19°	18	4.2	11.9	6.9
Apr	32° / 22°	24	5.2	12.5	4.7
May	36° / 25°	21	6.8	13	2.5
Jun	38° / 27°	6	2.6	13.3	1.3
Jul	37° / 28°	4	1.3	13.2	1.9
Aug	37° / 27°	16	5.2	12.7	2.0
Sep	36° / 26°	26	8.4	12.1	2.1
Oct	33° / 22°	11	3.1	11.5	4.3
Nov	29° / 19°	15	4.2	11	7.0
Dec	26° / 17°	27	4.8	10.7	8.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 71% of the time across winter.

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Ash Shafā gets around 91 mm of rain over 13 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

Wind in Winter

Winds average 6 km/h across winter.

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.7 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Ash Shafā

In seasonPeak

None of Ash Shafā's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Ash Shafā sees seasonal dust haze (May–September), heaviest in June.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Ash Shafā?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

8.3

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

7.6

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Ash Shafā for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Ash Shafā in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Ash Shafā sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 16°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Ash Shafā in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ash Shafā peaks around July 13 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 14 at about 6 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	8	10	12	13	12	12	13	11	11	10	7	6
Level	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	8	Very high
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	12	Extreme
Apr	13	Extreme
May	12	Extreme
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	10	Very high
Nov	7	Very high
Dec	6	High

Air quality in Ash Shafā in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Ash Shafā is worst in March — around 55 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	46	49	55	54	50	48	40	45	48	44	42	47
Level	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	46	Poor
Feb	49	Poor
Mar	55	Poor
Apr	54	Poor
May	50	Poor
Jun	48	Poor
Jul	40	Poor
Aug	45	Poor
Sep	48	Poor
Oct	44	Poor
Nov	42	Poor
Dec	47	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Ash Shafā?

Ash Shafā sits at 21.1°N, 40.3°E, 2,231 m above sea level, in Saudi Arabia. The nearest listed city is Ta'if, 24 km away.

Topography around Ash Shafā

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Ash Shafā.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ash Shafā has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 997 m around an average of 2,152 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,114 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,609 m.

The land around Ash Shafā is covered by shrubs (59%) within 3 km, shrubs (39%), bare terrain (35%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (82%) within 80 km.

3 km

997 m

shrubs 59%

16 km

2,114 m

shrubs 39%

80 km

2,609 m

bare terrain 82%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← Fall Ash Shafā year-round climate Spring →

Winter weather nearby: Ta'if 24 km · Mecca 64 km · Al Jumūm 89 km · Al Līth 103 km · Al ‘Aqīq 123 km · Jeddah 126 km · Turabah 137 km · Khulayş 159 km

Saudi Arabia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 3; Reconsider Travel
Power plugs: Type G; 230 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 47% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $34,537; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 0.9; per 100k, 2019
Road deaths: 35.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 404

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Ash Shafā (21.0727°, 40.3184°, elevation 2,231 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.