Cradock weather in March

In March, Cradock sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 84 mm of rain across 10.6 wet days and about 12.2 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 27°C in the first days to 24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 51% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 42 min at the start of March to 11 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Cradock's 6th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cradock's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 26°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 84 mm; 10.6 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 12 min; 6:20 AM – 6:35 PM
Cloud cover: 43%; 6th clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 5.52 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.9; out of 10

Cradock is town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

Founded: 1816

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← February Cradock year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 27°C in the first days to 24°C by the end.

A typical March day in Cradock reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 19°C and 31°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 2°C cooler than February and about 3°C warmer than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24
Avg low (°C)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	14
2	27	14
3	27	14
4	27	14
5	27	14
6	27	14
7	27	14
8	27	14
9	26	14
10	26	14
11	26	14
12	26	14
13	26	13
14	26	13
15	26	13
16	26	13
17	26	13
18	25	13
19	25	13
20	25	13
21	25	13
22	25	13
23	25	13
24	25	13
25	25	13
26	25	12
27	25	12
28	25	12
29	25	12
30	24	12
31	24	12

How March really feels in Cradock

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Cradock weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 15°	95	12.2	13.9	6.4
Feb	27° / 15°	88	12	13.2	6.2
Mar	26° / 13°	84	10.6	12.2	6.9
Apr	23° / 10°	45	7.5	11.2	7.4
May	20° / 7°	20	4.3	10.4	7.5
Jun	17° / 4°	17	3.5	9.9	6.6
Jul	17° / 3°	17	3	10.1	6.7
Aug	18° / 5°	20	4.2	10.8	7.3
Sep	22° / 7°	25	3.8	11.8	7.9
Oct	24° / 9°	44	7.4	12.8	7.6
Nov	25° / 11°	59	8.7	13.6	7.2
Dec	27° / 13°	73	10.3	14.1	6.7

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 51% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 32%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	71	71	71	70	70	70	70	69	69	68	69	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	67	66	66	66	66	65
Cloudier (%)	29	29	29	30	30	30	30	31	31	32	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	34	34	34	34	35

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	71	29
2	71	29
3	71	29
4	70	30
5	70	30
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	68	32
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	67	33
27	66	34
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	66	34
31	65	35

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Cradock gets around 84 mm of rain over 10.6 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 35% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	40	40	40	39	39	38	38	37	37	36	36	35	35	34	34	34	33	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	36
11	36
12	35
13	35
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	31

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 67% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	54	55	55	56	57	57	58	58	59	60	60	61	62	64	65	66	68	69	71	72	73	74	75	77	78	79	80	80	82	83	84
Comfortable (%)	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	34	33	32	31	30	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	18	17	16	15
Humid (%)	11	10	9	8	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	54	35	11
2	55	35	10
3	55	36	9
4	56	36	8
5	57	36	7
6	57	36	7
7	58	36	6
8	58	36	6
9	59	36	5
10	60	35	5
11	60	35	5
12	61	34	5
13	62	33	5
14	64	32	4
15	65	31	4
16	66	30	4
17	68	28	4
18	69	27	4
19	71	26	3
20	72	25	3
21	73	24	3
22	74	23	3
23	75	22	3
24	77	21	2
25	78	20	2
26	79	19	2
27	80	18	2
28	80	18	2
29	82	17	1
30	83	16	1
31	84	15	1

Wind in March

Winds average 9 km/h in March, the calmest month.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	9	calm
2	9	calm
3	9	calm
4	9	calm
5	9	calm
6	9	calm
7	9	calm
8	9	calm
9	9	calm
10	9	calm
11	9	calm
12	9	calm
13	9	calm
14	9	calm
15	9	calm
16	9	calm
17	9	calm
18	9	calm
19	9	calm
20	9	calm
21	9	calm
22	9	calm
23	9	calm
24	9	calm
25	9	calm
26	9	calm
27	9	calm
28	9	calm
29	9	calm
30	9	calm
31	9	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 42 min at the start of March to 11 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 60 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:09 AM to 6:30 AM, and sunset from 6:53 PM to 6:15 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.7
Sunrise (AM)	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:21	6:22	6:23	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:30	6:30
Sunset (PM)	6:53	6:52	6:51	6:50	6:48	6:47	6:46	6:45	6:43	6:42	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:36	6:35	6:33	6:32	6:31	6:29	6:28	6:27	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:17	6:16	6:15

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.7	6:09	6:53
2	12.7	6:09	6:52
3	12.7	6:10	6:51
4	12.6	6:11	6:50
5	12.6	6:12	6:48
6	12.6	6:12	6:47
7	12.5	6:13	6:46
8	12.5	6:14	6:45
9	12.5	6:15	6:43
10	12.4	6:15	6:42
11	12.4	6:16	6:41
12	12.4	6:17	6:40
13	12.3	6:18	6:38
14	12.3	6:18	6:37
15	12.3	6:19	6:36
16	12.2	6:20	6:35
17	12.2	6:21	6:33
18	12.2	6:21	6:32
19	12.1	6:22	6:31
20	12.1	6:23	6:29
21	12.1	6:23	6:28
22	12.0	6:24	6:27
23	12.0	6:25	6:25
24	12.0	6:25	6:24
25	11.9	6:26	6:23
26	11.9	6:27	6:21
27	11.9	6:28	6:20
28	11.8	6:28	6:19
29	11.8	6:29	6:17
30	11.8	6:30	6:16
31	11.7	6:30	6:15

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 5.52 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.08 kWh/m² to a high of 7.56 kWh/m² in December across the year — March's 5.52 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.1	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.1	Intense
2	6.0	Intense
3	6.0	Intense
4	6.0	Bright
5	5.9	Bright
6	5.9	Bright
7	5.9	Bright
8	5.8	Bright
9	5.8	Bright
10	5.7	Bright
11	5.7	Bright
12	5.7	Bright
13	5.6	Bright
14	5.6	Bright
15	5.5	Bright
16	5.5	Bright
17	5.5	Bright
18	5.4	Bright
19	5.4	Bright
20	5.4	Bright
21	5.3	Bright
22	5.3	Bright
23	5.3	Bright
24	5.2	Bright
25	5.2	Bright
26	5.1	Bright
27	5.1	Bright
28	5.0	Bright
29	5.0	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	4.9	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Cradock

In seasonPeak

In March, Cradock sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Cradock's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is March a good time to visit Cradock?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

6.9

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

6.5

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Cradock for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Cradock in March

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

In March, Cradock sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Cradock in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cradock peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 4 (moderate).

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)	15	12	10	7	5	4	4	5	7	11	12	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	12	Extreme
Mar	10	Extreme
Apr	7	High
May	5	Moderate
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	5	High
Sep	7	High
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Cradock?

Cradock sits at 32.2°S, 25.6°E, 896 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Somerset East, 62 km away.

Topography around Cradock

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cradock has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m around an average of 915 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,015 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,857 m.

The land around Cradock is covered by grassland (57%) within 3 km, grassland (66%) and shrubs (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (76%) within 80 km.

3 km

157 m

grassland 57%

16 km

1,015 m

grassland 66%

80 km

1,857 m

grassland 76%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← February Cradock year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Somerset East 62 km · Middelburg 94 km · Graaff Reinet 103 km · Whittlesea 113 km · Fort Beaufort 117 km · Queenstown 122 km · Queensdale 132 km · Alice 133 km

South Africa travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / M / N; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 41% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $6,598; 2025
Happiness: 5.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 68%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 43.7; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 22.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very high; EF EPI 602
Religion

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 Cradock (-32.1642°, 25.6192°, elevation 896 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	14
2	27	14
3	27	14
4	27	14
5	27	14
6	27	14
7	27	14
8	27	14
9	26	14
10	26	14
11	26	14
12	26	14
13	26	13
14	26	13
15	26	13
16	26	13
17	26	13
18	25	13
19	25	13
20	25	13
21	25	13
22	25	13
23	25	13
24	25	13
25	25	13
26	25	12
27	25	12
28	25	12
29	25	12
30	24	12
31	24	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	71	29
2	71	29
3	71	29
4	70	30
5	70	30
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	68	32
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	67	33
27	66	34
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	66	34
31	65	35

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	36
11	36
12	35
13	35
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	54	35	11
2	55	35	10
3	55	36	9
4	56	36	8
5	57	36	7
6	57	36	7
7	58	36	6
8	58	36	6
9	59	36	5
10	60	35	5
11	60	35	5
12	61	34	5
13	62	33	5
14	64	32	4
15	65	31	4
16	66	30	4
17	68	28	4
18	69	27	4
19	71	26	3
20	72	25	3
21	73	24	3
22	74	23	3
23	75	22	3
24	77	21	2
25	78	20	2
26	79	19	2
27	80	18	2
28	80	18	2
29	82	17	1
30	83	16	1
31	84	15	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	14
2	27	14
3	27	14
4	27	14
5	27	14
6	27	14
7	27	14
8	27	14
9	26	14
10	26	14
11	26	14
12	26	14
13	26	13
14	26	13
15	26	13
16	26	13
17	26	13
18	25	13
19	25	13
20	25	13
21	25	13
22	25	13
23	25	13
24	25	13
25	25	13
26	25	12
27	25	12
28	25	12
29	25	12
30	24	12
31	24	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	71	29
2	71	29
3	71	29
4	70	30
5	70	30
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	68	32
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	67	33
27	66	34
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	66	34
31	65	35

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	36
11	36
12	35
13	35
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	54	35	11
2	55	35	10
3	55	36	9
4	56	36	8
5	57	36	7
6	57	36	7
7	58	36	6
8	58	36	6
9	59	36	5
10	60	35	5
11	60	35	5
12	61	34	5
13	62	33	5
14	64	32	4
15	65	31	4
16	66	30	4
17	68	28	4
18	69	27	4
19	71	26	3
20	72	25	3
21	73	24	3
22	74	23	3
23	75	22	3
24	77	21	2
25	78	20	2
26	79	19	2
27	80	18	2
28	80	18	2
29	82	17	1
30	83	16	1
31	84	15	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	14
2	27	14
3	27	14
4	27	14
5	27	14
6	27	14
7	27	14
8	27	14
9	26	14
10	26	14
11	26	14
12	26	14
13	26	13
14	26	13
15	26	13
16	26	13
17	26	13
18	25	13
19	25	13
20	25	13
21	25	13
22	25	13
23	25	13
24	25	13
25	25	13
26	25	12
27	25	12
28	25	12
29	25	12
30	24	12
31	24	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	71	29
2	71	29
3	71	29
4	70	30
5	70	30
6	70	30
7	70	30
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	68	32
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	67	33
27	66	34
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	66	34
31	65	35

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	36
11	36
12	35
13	35
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	54	35	11
2	55	35	10
3	55	36	9
4	56	36	8
5	57	36	7
6	57	36	7
7	58	36	6
8	58	36	6
9	59	36	5
10	60	35	5
11	60	35	5
12	61	34	5
13	62	33	5
14	64	32	4
15	65	31	4
16	66	30	4
17	68	28	4
18	69	27	4
19	71	26	3
20	72	25	3
21	73	24	3
22	74	23	3
23	75	22	3
24	77	21	2
25	78	20	2
26	79	19	2
27	80	18	2
28	80	18	2
29	82	17	1
30	83	16	1
31	84	15	1