Driefontein climate — normals and trends
Driefontein (South Africa) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 15.1 °C and it receives 976 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is January (18.8 °C on average) and the coldest is June (9.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Driefontein averages 5 frost days, 9 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 137 rainy days per year.
Driefontein has warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.17 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 36.0 °C (on 7 January 2016) and the coldest -4.2 °C (on 12 June 1956).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
DriefonteinMpumalanga
- coords
- -26.97°, 30.44°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
15.1°C
Average daily high
22.1°C
Average daily low
10.1°C
Annual rainfall
976mm
Sunshine / day
9.7h
Mean relative humidity
72%
Average peak wind
14.3km/h
Seasonal range
9.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
5 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
9 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
137 d/yr
Annual snowfall
1.1 cm
Average feels-like high
21.7 °C
Average feels-like low
8.6 °C
Average peak gust
33.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
18.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.5 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.50 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
36.0 °C
7 January 2016
Coldest day
-4.2 °C
12 June 1956
Wettest day
105 mm
3 February 1977
Windiest day
44.8 km/h
23 September 1941
Strongest gust
99.7 km/h
30 August 2008
Hottest feels-like
38.7 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-8.6 °C
13 June 1956
Snowiest day
17.0 cm
7 July 1996
Sunniest day
13.7 h
20 December 2023
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.0 °C | +1.4 °C | 188 mm | +32 mm |
| Feb | 24.4 °C | 0.0 °C | 183 mm | +57 mm |
| Mar | 24.0 °C | +0.4 °C | 121 mm | +21 mm |
| Apr | 21.0 °C | -0.7 °C | 128 mm | +72 mm |
| May | 20.9 °C | +1.0 °C | 7 mm | -12 mm |
| Jun | 18.4 °C | +0.8 °C | 3 mm | -8 mm |
| Jul | 18.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 8 mm | -1 mm |
| Aug | 22.7 °C | +2.3 °C | 5 mm | -15 mm |
| Sep | 23.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 81 mm | +36 mm |
| Oct | 23.4 °C | -0.1 °C | 70 mm | -40 mm |
| Nov | 22.1 °C | -1.6 °C | 181 mm | +28 mm |
| Dec | 24.2 °C | -0.3 °C | 247 mm | +77 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Driefontein?
Driefontein has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 15.1 °C and it receives 976 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Driefontein?
The hottest day measured in Driefontein between 1940 and 2025 was 7 January 2016, reaching 36.0 °C.
What is the coldest day in Driefontein?
The coldest day measured in Driefontein between 1940 and 2025 was 12 June 1956, at -4.2 °C.
Does it snow in Driefontein?
Yes. Driefontein gets on average 1.1 cm of snow per year and has around 5 frost days.
Has the climate of Driefontein warmed?
Yes: Driefontein warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Driefontein?
The wettest day measured in Driefontein between 1940 and 2025 was 3 February 1977, with 105 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Driefontein?
The windiest day measured in Driefontein between 1940 and 2025 was 23 September 1941, with winds reaching 44.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Driefontein?
The warmest month in Driefontein is January (18.8 °C on average); the coldest is June (9.5 °C).
How much does it rain in Driefontein?
Driefontein receives on average 976 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 137 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Driefontein?
Driefontein gets on average 9.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,540 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Driefontein?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Driefontein between 1940 and 2025 was 7 July 1996, with 17.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Driefontein?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Driefontein.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Driefontein?
In Driefontein, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 38.7 °C on 6 January 2016, and the lowest was -8.6 °C on 13 June 1956.
Compare Driefontein with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Driefontein