Piet Retief climate — normals and trends
Piet Retief (South Africa) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 15.9 °C and it receives 943 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 (19.6 °C on average) and the coldest is June (10.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Piet Retief averages 2 frost days, 20 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 132 rainy days per year.
Piet Retief has warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.16 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 36.7 °C (on 6 January 2016) and the coldest -3.5 °C (on 12 July 1994).
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
Piet RetiefMpumalanga
- coords
- -27.01°, 30.81°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
15.9°C
Average daily high
23.0°C
Average daily low
10.9°C
Annual rainfall
943mm
Sunshine / day
9.5h
Mean relative humidity
73%
Average peak wind
13.5km/h
Seasonal range
9.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
2 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
20 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
132 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.4 cm
Average feels-like high
23.0 °C
Average feels-like low
9.7 °C
Average peak gust
32.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
18.0 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.4 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.46 · 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
36.7 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest day
-3.5 °C
12 July 1994
Wettest day
122 mm
23 January 2004
Windiest day
41.9 km/h
23 September 1941
Strongest gust
95.8 km/h
30 August 2008
Hottest feels-like
40.6 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-7.2 °C
26 June 1964
Snowiest day
12.7 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 | 26.8 °C | +1.3 °C | 214 mm | +62 mm |
| Feb | 25.1 °C | -0.1 °C | 179 mm | +51 mm |
| Mar | 24.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 98 mm | -2 mm |
| Apr | 21.9 °C | -0.7 °C | 116 mm | +58 mm |
| May | 21.9 °C | +1.0 °C | 8 mm | -12 mm |
| Jun | 19.5 °C | +0.8 °C | 3 mm | -9 mm |
| Jul | 19.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 8 mm | -2 mm |
| Aug | 23.7 °C | +2.3 °C | 4 mm | -17 mm |
| Sep | 24.1 °C | +0.3 °C | 75 mm | +30 mm |
| Oct | 23.7 °C | -0.4 °C | 71 mm | -29 mm |
| Nov | 22.9 °C | -1.6 °C | 154 mm | +13 mm |
| Dec | 25.0 °C | -0.3 °C | 206 mm | +48 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 Piet Retief?
Piet Retief has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 15.9 °C and it receives 943 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Piet Retief?
The hottest day measured in Piet Retief between 1940 and 2025 was 6 January 2016, reaching 36.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Piet Retief?
The coldest day measured in Piet Retief between 1940 and 2025 was 12 July 1994, at -3.5 °C.
Does it snow in Piet Retief?
Almost never: Piet Retief sees virtually no snow, with about 2 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Piet Retief warmed?
Yes: Piet Retief warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Piet Retief?
The wettest day measured in Piet Retief between 1940 and 2025 was 23 January 2004, with 122 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Piet Retief?
The windiest day measured in Piet Retief between 1940 and 2025 was 23 September 1941, with winds reaching 41.9 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Piet Retief?
The warmest month in Piet Retief is January (19.6 °C on average); the coldest is June (10.5 °C).
How much does it rain in Piet Retief?
Piet Retief receives on average 943 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 132 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Piet Retief?
Piet Retief gets on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,468 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Piet Retief?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Piet Retief between 1940 and 2025 was 7 July 1996, with 12.7 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Piet Retief?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Piet Retief.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Piet Retief?
In Piet Retief, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 40.6 °C on 6 January 2016, and the lowest was -7.2 °C on 26 June 1964.
Compare Piet Retief with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Piet Retief