Global and Local Winds in Zimbabwe

Location and Global Wind

    Zimbabwe sits within approximately -15.5 Degrees South to -22.5 Degrees South Latitudes. The longitude it sits in is 25 Degrees East to 33.5 Degrees East. Zimbabwe sits within the lower Southern Hemisphere, and resides in the Hadley Tropical Cell. The wind belt that my country resides in is the Southeasterly Tradewind belt. The tradewinds by nature are extremely predominant in that area and is extremely consistent. This would mean that the wind actually blows Northwest towards the Equator, originating from the southeast of Zimbabwe. It is actually located fairly close to the Subtropical High pressure belt, which is located at 30 Degrees South Latitude. Zimbabwe is located semi-close to the Horse latitudes, which are located around 30-35 Degrees South. However, it is still far enough to not be considered very close, subjective to the person.

Global Wind and Weather & Map

Zimbabwe has a fairly temperate climate, and is considered a subtropical climate.  It is located relatively central to the Hadley cell, which gives it a very mild climate and gives it a mix between the heavy rain of the North ad the drier, desert like climates to the South. The Northern section of Zimbabwe actually receives quite a bit of rain the wet months while the South is much drier and hotter. This is due to the warm moist air rising in the area closest to the equator just North of Zimbabwe and the drier air sinking to the South of Zimbabwe. The pressure belt it is located near to its Southern border dictates the direction of the wind. To the South, there is a subtropical high-pressure system and to the North, there is the equatorial convergence low-pressure system. Naturally air goes from high to low pressure, which explains the predominant Southeasterly winds. This shows that Zimbabwe is located in the Southeasterly Tradewind Belt.  The country of Zimbabwe is actually bisected somewhat from the Southwest towards the Northeast with a relatively high ridge of mountains and plateaus. From the known wind direction, we can see where orographic lift would occur and that the Southern facing slopes are the windward and most likely moist side and the Northern facing slopes are the leeward slopes and most likely quite a bit drier, despite the subtropical climate, and formidable precipitation.

Zimbabwe is located fairly central to the Southern Hadley Cell

Zimbabwe is located almost centrally in the Southern Trades

Local Winds 

 Zimbabwe is actually a fairly mountainous country, especially towards its eastern border. The five types of winds/breezes that are associated with mountains are Valley Breezes, Mountain Breezes, Katabatic Winds, Eddys, and the Chinook/Foehn Winds (Rockies and Alps). Zimbabwe can definitely experience a few of these winds, especially in the Eastern mountainous region. The ones that Zimbabwe can experience are the Valley Breezes, Mountain Breezes, Katabatic Winds, and Eddys. Since the Chinook and Foehn winds are associated with the Rockies and Alps, Zimbabwe cannot experience these. My country unfortunately does not have a coastline. Two breezes associate with coastlines are land and sea breezes. My country cannot experience these breezes, because my country is landlocked in the southern tip of Africa.

Typical Weather and Tourism in Zimbabwe

     Zimbabwe is located in the Southern Hemisphere and boasts a very temperate climate. Since it is located in the S. Hemisphere, the Winter solstice is actually June 21^st, which is opposite to what we are accustomed to. The average maximum temperature during this month is a comfortable 71 degrees. At night however, it can drop decently low to about 44 degrees. The winters in Zimbabwe however, are very dry, and it’s very rare to see any sort of precipitation during the winter months. The average precipitation is only about 3mm of rain during this month.

   The Summer Solstice in Zimbabwe occurs during the month of December on the 22^nd. The average maximum temperature during this month is a warm and comfortable 79.3 degrees. The low during this month is still quite comfortable at 60.4 degrees. Zimbabwe is considered a subtropical climate and has a decently wet summer. During this month, one can count on about 182.7mm of rain precipitation. This might deter some from vacationing during the summer months.

   The Spring Equinox in Zimbabwe occurs on September 23^rd. The maximum average temperature during this month is 83.1 degrees. The average low during this month is quite a bit cooler at 53.1 degrees. This month is actually one of the drier months as well, with the expected rainfall during this month at just 6.5mm of rain precipitation. This would be a fine month to vacation in Zimbabwe due to the slightly warmer temperatures as opposed to July, yet a much less chance of precipitation in the summer months.

     The Autumnal Equinox of Zimbabwe occurs on March 21^st. The maximum average temperature during this month is 79.2 degrees. The average low during this month is 58.1 degrees. This month, a decent amount of rainfall is definitely quite common. The average rain precipitation during this month is 99.1mm.

      Looking through all of this data, we can see that Zimbabwe has an extremely temperate climate with very little variation in temperature throughout the year. The main deterrent of vacationing is more due to the heavy precipitation during the summer months. This however, is balanced out with extremely dry winters which might attract more people.

     Zimbabwe has extremely welcoming temperatures year round, with a very low range of temperatures consistently. The summer months are significantly wetter than the winter months, but still offer a very manageable climate. That being said, to escape the rain, I would recommend very strongly the winter months to escape the rain and still have a very comfortable temperature. One activity you can do here in Zimbabwe is going to visit Victoria Falls, which is the largest curtain of water in the world. Another activity is to visit Hwange National Park, which is rich in wildlife and houses many rare animals. During the recommended tourism season, there really is no weather hazard you will face. Perhaps just the occasional rain, but that is extremely rare. The rainfall during these winter months can hardly be called rain. The average precipitation averages at a measly 3mm per month. This coupled with a comfortable high of 71 degrees and a slightly brisk low of 44 degrees make these months very easy to pack and plan for.

Make Your Zimbabwe Over!