Somerset West climate

Name: Somerset West
Address: ZA

Somerset West is warmest in February, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 9.0 °C. June is the wettest month (139 mm) and February the driest (18 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Somerset West averages 767 mm of rain and 101 days above 25 °C.

South Africa · population 225,289 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month February 27 °C
Coldest month July 9.0 °C
Driest month February 18 mm
Wettest month June 139 mm
Least cloud February 24 % cloud
Hottest on record March 39 °C
Coldest on record August 2.6 °C
Warmest sea January 19 °C

What to expectSomerset West through the year

Somerset West has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 17 °C in July to 27 °C in February, a swing of 9.5 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 101 days a year reach 25 °C, 25 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in March.

Rain is strongly seasonal. June averages 139 mm against 18 mm in February — 7.6 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off Somerset West is warmest in January at 19 °C and coldest in July at 15 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.8 °C	22 mm	24 %
February	27.2 °C	18 mm	24 %
March	25.8 °C	21 mm	30 %
April	23.1 °C	56 mm	41 %
May	20.0 °C	91 mm	50 %
June	17.3 °C	139 mm	50 %
July	16.9 °C	123 mm	45 %
August	17.0 °C	110 mm	48 %
September	18.5 °C	69 mm	51 %
October	21.0 °C	49 mm	44 %
November	22.8 °C	42 mm	39 %
December	25.3 °C	26 mm	32 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	26.8 °C	17.5 °C	21.8 °C	38.0 °C	12.2 °C	20	6
February	27.2 °C	17.9 °C	22.1 °C	38.1 °C	12.6 °C	20	7
March	25.8 °C	16.8 °C	20.8 °C	38.5 °C	9.9 °C	17	5
April	23.1 °C	14.5 °C	18.3 °C	35.8 °C	7.3 °C	9	2
May	20.0 °C	12.2 °C	15.8 °C	30.0 °C	6.1 °C	3	0
June	17.3 °C	9.8 °C	13.3 °C	27.2 °C	4.4 °C	0	0
July	16.9 °C	9.0 °C	12.7 °C	27.3 °C	2.9 °C	0	0
August	17.0 °C	9.2 °C	12.9 °C	27.5 °C	2.6 °C	1	0
September	18.5 °C	10.5 °C	14.3 °C	33.5 °C	5.1 °C	2	0
October	21.0 °C	12.6 °C	16.6 °C	34.4 °C	6.9 °C	5	1
November	22.8 °C	14.1 °C	18.3 °C	36.4 °C	8.4 °C	8	1
December	25.3 °C	16.3 °C	20.6 °C	36.6 °C	10.2 °C	15	3

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	22 mm	4	14 h/day	24 %	67 %	23 km/h	18.5 °C
February	18 mm	3	13 h/day	24 %	68 %	22 km/h	18.3 °C
March	21 mm	4	12 h/day	30 %	70 %	21 km/h	17.3 °C
April	56 mm	5	11 h/day	41 %	73 %	19 km/h	16.1 °C
May	91 mm	9	10 h/day	50 %	77 %	18 km/h	15.7 °C
June	139 mm	11	9.9 h/day	50 %	79 %	19 km/h	15.3 °C
July	123 mm	10	10 h/day	45 %	79 %	19 km/h	14.6 °C
August	110 mm	11	11 h/day	48 %	79 %	20 km/h	14.6 °C
September	69 mm	9	12 h/day	51 %	77 %	20 km/h	15.1 °C
October	49 mm	6	13 h/day	44 %	73 %	21 km/h	15.8 °C
November	42 mm	6	14 h/day	39 %	70 %	22 km/h	17.0 °C
December	26 mm	4	14 h/day	32 %	68 %	23 km/h	18.1 °C

How Somerset West compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Somerset West	27 °C	9.0 °C	767 mm	101
Cape Town · South Africa	26 °C	9.2 °C	495 mm	70
Paarl · South Africa	31 °C	7.2 °C	815 mm	162
George · South Africa	24 °C	8.8 °C	626 mm	39

Where Somerset West ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Africa in August	2nd of 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Africa in September	3rd of 50	19 °C
The coolest places in Africa in July	7th of 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Africa in June	11th of 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Africa in October	12th of 50	21 °C
The coolest places in Africa in May	14th of 50	20 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Somerset West.

QuestionsCommon questions about Somerset West’s climate

When is the best time to visit Somerset West?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. March, April, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, February is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Somerset West get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 25 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 9.0 °C in July, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Somerset West?

June, averaging 139 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is February with 18 mm. The year as a whole averages 767 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Somerset West rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -34.084°, 18.821° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.