Weather in Pietermaritzburg in November

A good month. November is a solid month to be in Pietermaritzburg. You should expect rain on 22 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

November ranks 9 of 12 in Pietermaritzburg: past the worst of the year but short of June, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 22 of the month's 30 days, 5 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 8 days top 30 °C — hot spells arrive, but they break. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest November day reached 40.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 6.9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 49 mm — roughly 30% of the month's rain in one day.

November is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest November on record still delivered 260 mm against 57 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 162 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 4.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 77%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How November sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 26.5 °C in October, 26.9 here, 27.9 in December. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in November

November is at or near the longest days of Pietermaritzburg's year: 13.6 hours of daylight, gaining 0.7 hours across the month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 19.7 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

November in Pietermaritzburg versus nearby

If Pietermaritzburg is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Durban is close enough to be a coin toss — 4.1 °C cooler, 6 days less rain. Johannesburg is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 6 days less rain.

So: November is a compromise. June is 30 points better and is what Pietermaritzburg is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Pietermaritzburg

See all twelve months in Pietermaritzburg, or where else to go in November.