Cradock in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Cradock sees average daytime highs around 27°C and overnight lows near 14°C, with 256 mm of rain over about 35 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.

Summer is Cradock's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Cradock's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
27°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
14°C
Rainfall
256 mm
35 wet days
Avg wind
10 km/h
Travel score
6.4
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Cradock in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C.

A typical summer day in Cradock reaches about 27°C and drops to 14°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

How summer really feels in Cradock

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

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 15°9512.213.96.4
Feb27° / 15°881213.26.2
Mar26° / 13°8410.612.26.9
Apr23° / 10°457.511.27.4
May20° / 204.310.47.5
Jun17° / 173.59.96.6
Jul17° / 17310.16.7
Aug18° / 204.210.87.3
Sep22° / 253.811.87.9
Oct24° / 447.412.87.6
Nov25° / 11°598.713.67.2
Dec27° / 13°7310.314.16.7

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Cradock gets around 256 mm of rain over 35 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Summer

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Summer

Winds average 10 km/h across summer.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 hours in early December to 12 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Summer

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 7.1 kWh/m².

02468DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for Cradock

In seasonPeak

In summer, Cradock overlaps 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 summer a good time to visit Cradock?

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

6.4
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
6.7
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

summer 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 Summer

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

In summer, Cradock sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 14°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 35 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Cradock in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 13 (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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateHighExtremeJan 14UV 14Jun 22UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar10Extreme
Apr7High
May5Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug5High
Sep7High
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec13Extreme
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
16 km
1,015 m
80 km
1,857 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Summer 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
Christian 86%or other traditional African religions 5%nothing in particular 5%Muslim 2%

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.