Average Temperature Of Jupiter
Mauricette Atencio
With an average temperature of minus 234 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 145 degrees Celsius), Jupiter is frigid even in its warmest weather. Unlike Earth, whose temperature varies as one moves closer to or farther from the equator, Jupiter's temperature depends more on height above the surface. This is because heat is driven not by the sun but by the interior of the planet.
Jupiter is made up predominantly of hydrogen, with some helium. Small traces of other gases also contribute to the planet's composition. These gases fill the entire planet, descending all the way to the core. The surface, as identified by scientists, is the region where the pressure is equal to that at the surface of Earth, one bar. But don't be misled by the term; you can't stand on Jupiter's surface, because it isn't solid. Below the surface, the gas becomes liquid and even plasma, all the way to the central core.
Because Jupiter's distance from the sun is an average of 484 million miles (778 million km), heat from the star is weak, though it does contribute. Much of the heating of the gases come from the inside of planet itself. Beneath the surface, convection from the liquid and plasma hydrogen generate more heat than from the sun. This convection keeps the massive gas giant warm enough to avoid it freezing into an icy world.
In Jupiter, the summers are hot, oppressive, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are short, comfortable, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 58F to 89F and is rarely below 45F or above 92F.
The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from June 3 to September 27, with an average daily high temperature above 86F. The hottest month of the year in Jupiter is August, with an average high of 89F and low of 77F.
The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from December 4 to March 3, with an average daily high temperature below 77F. The coldest month of the year in Jupiter is January, with an average low of 59F and high of 74F.
The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from May 23 to October 8, with a greater than 40% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Jupiter is August, with an average of 18.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.
Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Jupiter is August, with an average of 18.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 62% on August 23.
To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Jupiter experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.
The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.
We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.
The muggier period of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from April 14 to December 1, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 41% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Jupiter is August, with 31.0 days that are muggy or worse.
This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.
The windier part of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from October 5 to May 19, with average wind speeds of more than 9.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Jupiter is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.7 miles per hour.
The wind is most often from the south for 1.8 months, from June 13 to August 8, with a peak percentage of 46% on July 9. The wind is most often from the east for 10 months, from August 8 to June 13, with a peak percentage of 34% on January 1.
The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.6 months, from June 22 to October 11, with an average temperature above 83F. The month of the year in Jupiter with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 85F.
The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.6 months, from December 23 to April 11, with an average temperature below 77F. The month of the year in Jupiter with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 76F.
The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65F and 80F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Jupiter for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid January to early May and from late October to early January, with a peak score in the third week of November.
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75F and 90F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Jupiter for hot-weather activities are from early April to late May and from early October to early November, with a peak score in the first week of May.
For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.
Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.
Temperatures in Jupiter are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.
Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50F and a cap of 86F.
This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.
The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from March 31 to May 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Jupiter is May, with an average of 6.4 kWh.
The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from November 7 to January 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Jupiter is December, with an average of 3.6 kWh.
The topography within 2 miles of Jupiter is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 23 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (62 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (66 feet).
For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Jupiter according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.
The estimated value at Jupiter is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Jupiter and a given station.
To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Jupiter and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.
All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.
The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.
We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.
We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.