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| Cape Town Weather |
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| "Aren't you going to take a coat?"
a friend asks me as we rush out the door to attend a charity event in Cape Town's lush Kirstenbosch
Botanical gardens. Although the sky is clear and the sun is shining, in Cape Town this
is no simple question. Situated between two oceans, and languishing in the shadow of Table
Mountain, the Mother City consistently confounds meteorological attempts to predict
her weather. The Crowded House song "Four Seasons in one Day" is a
rather apt description of the ever-shifting set of microclimates that is the Cape Town
weather. |
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Nestled between the Indian and Atlantic
oceans, Cape Town has a temperate, Mediterranean climate. Although September 1st is
officially the first day of spring, things really only start to hot up toward the end of
the month when clear skies and balmy temperatures provide a nice way to ease into the heat
of summer. Summer brings sunshine and maximum temperatures of between 19-35 degrees
Celsius which, when combined with the rich natural environment, make Cape Town the perfect
place for film-crews and bevies of beautiful models to film and be filmed.
The Cape Town summer season, starting in October and peaking over the December - January
period, is when things really hot up, with everybody from movie stars to international
politicians descending on the city of Cape Town to enjoy the summer heat. February is
generally considered the hottest month, with temperatures as high as 40 having been
recorded and the heat, along with frenetic buzz tends to die down around April.
The South easterly wind - the famous 'Cape Doctor’, named for it's ability to cleanse
Cape Town's air, can sometimes provide a challenge to outings to the beach. Ill-prepared
beach goers can regularly be seen chasing umbrellas determined to find their freedom down
the beach. The locals know which Cape
Town beaches provide shelter; so don't forget to ask where to go if the wind seems a
little brisk. Despite its ability to upset beach-goers, the ‘Cape Doctor’ is
something of a boon to the Xtreme sports scene. Cape Town boasts a long history of
sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing as part of its sporting heritage as well as hosting
the Cape Town International Kite Festival in Muizenberg, which annually pays tribute to the Cape winds.
Winter in Cape Town is relatively mild, with July considered the coldest month having an
average daily minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius. Despite it’s reputation as a
summer hot spot, Cape Town also has an active winter social scene. Many bars and Cape Town
restaurants provide rustic winter fires and ample opportunity to watch the clear
winter night sky. It is also known to snow in Ceres, a
rural hamlet outside of Cape Town in the Western Cape, and locals and tourists alike commute out of the city
to take part in the African novelty of snowball fights and snowman building. Only very
rarely in winter does it snow on Table Mountain, and when it does you feel it, with
temperatures as low as -1 degree Celsius claiming an icy grip on the city. Rainfall tends
to reach a peak in June/July although periods of rainfall often continue into September
and October. |
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