Winnie Mandela in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Winnie Mandela sees average daytime highs around 30°C and overnight lows near 17°C, with 278 mm of rain over about 38 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 30°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
30°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
17°C
Rainfall
278 mm
38 wet days
Avg wind
12 km/h
Travel score
5.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Winnie Mandela in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 30°C.

A typical summer day in Winnie Mandela reaches about 30°C and drops to 17°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.

10°15°20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

How summer really feels in Winnie Mandela

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.

Winnie Mandela 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
Jan30° / 17°10213.513.64.9
Feb29° / 17°8411.9135.4
Mar27° / 15°8211.112.26.6
Apr24° / 10°537.711.37.6
May21° / 233.410.68.1
Jun18° / 131.810.27.7
Jul18° / 81.310.47.9
Aug21° / 182.7118.3
Sep25° / 162.811.88.6
Oct27° / 12°527.612.77.3
Nov28° / 14°76913.46.2
Dec30° / 16°9212.413.85.1

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Winnie Mandela gets around 278 mm of rain over 38 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 12 km/h across summer.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min in early December to 12 h 42 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 7.2 kWh/m².

02468DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for Winnie Mandela

In seasonPeak

In summer, Winnie Mandela overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Winnie Mandela'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 Winnie Mandela?

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.

5.1
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
6.8
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit Winnie Mandela for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Winnie Mandela in Summer

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

In summer, Winnie Mandela sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 17°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 38 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Winnie Mandela in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Winnie Mandela peaks around January 13 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 5 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighModerateHighVery highExtremeJan 13UV 15Jun 22UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar11Extreme
Apr8Very high
May6High
Jun5Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug7High
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Air quality in Winnie Mandela in Summer

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Winnie Mandela is worst in June — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.1× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJun 1917 µg/m³Dec 116 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar10Good
Apr12Good
May16Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep16Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov6Good
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is Winnie Mandela?

Winnie Mandela sits at 28.7°S, 26.5°E, 1,402 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Theunissen, 40 km away.

Topography around Winnie Mandela

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Winnie Mandela has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 102 m around an average of 1,396 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 278 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 897 m.

The land around Winnie Mandela is covered by grassland (59%) and cropland (20%) within 3 km, grassland (79%) within 16 km, and grassland (71%) and cropland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
102 m
16 km
278 m
80 km
897 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Summer weather nearby: Theunissen 40 km · Bloemfontein 52 km · Bultfontein 55 km · Winburg 57 km · Thaba Nchu 68 km · Botshabelo 68 km · Virginia 77 km · Welkom 85 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 Winnie Mandela (-28.7003°, 26.4581°, elevation 1,402 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.