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Climate - Sierra Leone


Average weather, temperature, rainfall, sunshine

Flag - Sierra Leone

Map - Sierra Leone

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In Sierra Leone, the climate is tropical, hot all year round, with a dry season in winter and a rainy season due to the African monsoon, which runs from May to November in the north and from April to November in the south. Annual rainfall is considerable, from 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters (80 to 120 inches), with a maximum in the coastal area.
The western part of the country is flat, while the eastern part is covered with hills and mountains; the highest peak is Mount Bintumani, 1,945 meters (6,381 feet) high. The altitude tempers the heat, especially above a thousand meters (3,300 feet).

Winter in Sierra Leone is hot and sunny: night-time temperatures are around 22/24 °C (72/75 °F) along the coast and 18/20 °C (64/68 °F) in the interior, while daytime temperatures are around 30 °C (86 °F) on the coast and 32/34 °C (90/93 °F) in the interior. Sometimes, it can get uncomfortably hot: the temperature can reach 38/40 °C (100/104 °F) even in winter, but luckily, the air is quite dry because of the prevailing wind, the Harmattan. This wind blows from the Sahara and lowers the humidity, especially in inland areas, and less frequently along the coast. On the contrary, during the night, the temperature can get a little cool, especially in inland areas, where it can drop to around 10 °C (50 °F), while in the mountains, it can even get cold.
Starting from February, the temperature rises, under the influence of the tropical sun, but then the rains come quite soon. The first showers occur in March in the south: in Daru, already 90 millimeters (3.5 inches) of rain fall, and only 15 mm (0.6 in) in Freetown, in the center. Rainfall increases gradually, reaching a peak from June to September, when it exceeds 250 mm (10 in) per month also in inland areas, while on the coast, the rains are more violent, and become torrential, especially in July and August: in Freetown, up to 800 mm (31.5 in) of rain fall in August, as happens in an moderately rainy city in an entire year. The coast south of Freetown, flat and covered with mangroves, is often flooded in this period.
Even the amount of sunshine in the summer months becomes very poor, since the rains occur almost daily. In the rainy season, the temperature often remains below 30 °C (86 °F) during the day, while it remains high at night, and the humidity makes the air quite sultry, even though, along the coast, the heat is tempered by the breeze.
During the month of November, the monsoon withdraws, the rains cease and the dry wind from the north-east starts to blow again.

Freetown

Freetown

Here are the average temperatures in the capital, Freetown, located on the coast.
Freetown - Average temperatures
MonthMin (°C)Max (°C)Mean (°C)Min (°F)Max (°F)Mean (°F)
January243027758680.6
February243027758680.6
March243127.5758881.5
April253128778882.4
May243127.5758881.5
June243027758680.6
July232926738478.8
August232825.5738277.9
September232926738478.8
October233026.5738679.7
November243027758680.6
December243027758680.6
Year23.729.926.874.785.880

Here is the average precipitation in Freetown.
Freetown - Average precipitation
MonthMillimetersInchesDays
January30.10
February40.20
March150.61
April451.84
May1756.915
June32512.822
July73528.927
August79031.127
September48519.124
October26510.421
November903.59
December150.62
Year2945115.9152

The sun in Freetown often shines from November to April, while in the rainy season, the sky is often cloudy, especially in the wettest period, from July to September. In inland areas, the sun shines a little more often. Here are the average sunshine hours per day in Freetown.
Freetown - Sunshine hours
MonthAverageTotal
January8250
February8225
March8250
April7210
May6185
June5150
July395
August260
September4120
October6185
November7210
December7215
Year5.92155

The sea in Sierra Leone is warm enough to swim in all year round, as we can see in the following table.
Freetown - Sea temperature
MonthCelsius (°C)Fahrenheit (°F)
January2781
February2781
March2679
April2781
May2882
June2882
July2882
August2781
September2781
October2882
November2984
December2882
Year27.581.5


When to go and what to pack in Sierra Leone

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