Climate
Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown has a tropical climate with a rainy season from May through to October; the balance of the year represents the dry season. The beginning and end of the rainy season is marked by strong thunderstorms. Under the Köppen climate classification, Freetown has a tropical monsoon climate primarily due to the heavy amount of precipitation it receives during the rainy season. Freetown's high humidity is somewhat relieved November through to February by the famous Harmattan, a gentle wind flowing down from the Sahara Desert affording Freetown its coolest period of the year. Temperature extremes in Freetown are from 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) to 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) all year. Temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius are normal, with very little day/night variation.
| Climate data for Freetown, Sierra Leone | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) |
34 (93) |
35 (95) |
35 (95) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
33 (91) |
34 (93) |
32 (90) |
35 (95) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.9 (87.6) |
30.1 (86.2) |
28.7 (83.7) |
28.4 (83.1) |
29.0 (84.2) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.1 (86.2) |
29.7 (85.5) |
29.93 (85.87) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.4 (75.9) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.81 (74.85) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
19 (66) |
20 (68) |
19 (66) |
19 (66) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 3.4 (0.134) |
3.6 (0.142) |
12.5 (0.492) |
46.9 (1.846) |
177.2 (6.976) |
323.0 (12.717) |
734.3 (28.909) |
791.1 (31.146) |
484.1 (19.059) |
265.8 (10.465) |
87.5 (3.445) |
15.9 (0.626) |
2,945.3 (115.957) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 152 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 226.3 | 217.5 | 232.5 | 207.0 | 189.1 | 153.0 | 102.3 | 86.8 | 126.0 | 186.0 | 204.6 | 161.2 | 2,092.3 |
| Source #1: HKO | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: BBC Weather (records) | |||||||||||||
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