Riversdale in Winter

In winter (June, July and August), Riversdale sees average daytime highs around 19°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 83 mm of rain over about 17 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 19°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
19°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
7°C
Rainfall
83 mm
17 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
7.2
weakest season of the year
Months
Jun · Jul · Aug

Temperature in Riversdale in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 19°C.

A typical winter day in Riversdale reaches about 19°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.

10°20°30°JunJulAug

Riversdale weather by month

How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 17°275.3147.4
Feb28° / 17°235.313.37.1
Mar27° / 16°376.412.37.4
Apr24° / 13°355.911.27.7
May22° / 10°285.210.37.6
Jun19° / 265.49.87.2
Jul19° / 275.6107.1
Aug20° / 305.810.77.2
Sep21° / 10°23511.87.5
Oct24° / 12°385.812.97.7
Nov25° / 14°436.113.87.7
Dec27° / 16°285.314.27.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Riversdale gets around 83 mm of rain over 17 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%JunJulAug

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.

0%25%50%75%100%JunJulAug

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 km/h across winter.

051015JunJulAug

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min in early June to 11 h 12 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJunJulAug

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.0 kWh/m².

012345JunJulAug
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Riversdale?

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.

7.2
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
3.3
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Riversdale for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Riversdale in Winter

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

In winter, Riversdale sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Riversdale in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 16°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 33 km away) is warmest in February at about 22°C and coldest in July near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 13 to Mar 25 — about 3.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan21Refreshing
Feb22Refreshing
Mar21Refreshing
Apr19Cool
May17Cool
Jun16Cool
Jul15Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct17Cool
Nov19Cool
Dec20Refreshing

UV index in Riversdale in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Riversdale peaks around January 14 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateExtremeJan 14UV 13Jun 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb10Very high
Mar10Very high
Apr6High
May4Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul3Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep6High
Oct10Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec12Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Riversdale?

Riversdale sits at 34.1°S, 21.3°E, 121 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Swellendam, 76 km away.

Topography around Riversdale

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Riversdale has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 160 m around an average of 142 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,273 m.

The land around Riversdale is covered by cropland (39%) and shrubs (24%) within 3 km, cropland (40%), shrubs (26%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and shrubs (32%), grassland (28%) and water (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
160 m
16 km
1,339 m
80 km
2,273 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Swellendam 76 km · Mossel Bay 82 km · Groot-Brakrivier 89 km · Oudtshoorn 103 km · Montagu 110 km · George 112 km · Ashton 115 km · Bredasdorp 122 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 Riversdale (-34.0934°, 21.2572°, elevation 121 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.