A tropical climate
The rainy season generally begins at the end of April with brief showers. By June, rainfall reaches over 250 mm per month. Most of the time, it rains in the evening or at night. It helps cool the atmosphere and then stops.
Honduras' climate is considered tropical on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, with temperatures between 28 and 32°C year-round. The central and southern regions are relatively warmer and less humid than those on the north coast.
The climate tends to be more temperate inland, in the mountainous regions. For example, the capital, Tegucigalpa, lies inland, with average temperatures of 25°C in January and 30°C in April.
In the Caribbean lowlands, the only respite from year-round heat and humidity comes in December or January, when a powerful cold front from the north sometimes brings several days of strong northwesterly winds and slightly cooler temperatures.
The climate is tropical at low altitudes in the warm lands, while it is more temperate at intermediate altitudes in the temperate lands, and becomes cooler on mountain tops.
The country extends from 13 to 16 degrees north latitude, facing the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The central part is occupied by hills and mountains.
In terms of rainfall, the central-southern part has a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October, while in the north there is a zone where there is no dry season, so the climate can be defined as equatorial.
The climatic difference between the two slopes is also reflected in the vegetation: inland areas and the southern slope are dominated by savannah, while the northern slope is dominated by tropical forest.
In fact, the north-easterly trade winds, which blow during the winter months, bring rain to the north slope even during the winter months.
Occasionally, from December to March, cool air masses from the USA can reach Honduras. When this happens, night-time temperatures can drop to around 10 degrees in Tegucigalpa, and to around 13/15 degrees in the plains.
Climate by region
For swimming, the Honduran sea is warm enough all year round: water temperature varies between 27°C and 29°C in the Caribbean Sea, and is slightly higher in the Pacific Ocean.
To the north, the Caribbean Sea coast, directly exposed to the trade winds, is very rainy, with a total of 2,600/3,000 millimeters per year. However, although there is no real dry season, rainfall generally decreases during the February-April period, particularly in March and April, most markedly on the eastern side (department of Gracias a Dios), where it drops by 50 to 60 millimeters per month. On the western side, the drop in precipitation is less obvious: in Tela and La Ceiba, it reaches 80/90 millimetres per month.
In Roatan too, and in the other Caribbean islands (Guanaja, Utila, Cayos Cochinos) belonging to the Bay Islands department, the climate is warm all year round, but with a cooler season from November to February, and a hotter, more sweltering season from May to October, with abundant rainfall and no real dry season.
Average temperatures in Roatan range from 25.5°C in January to 29°C in August and September. Being an island, temperatures are fairly stable, but from December to March they can sometimes drop below 20°C, while from April to October, on the hottest days, they can reach 33/34°C.
The interior of Honduras is made up of hills and mountains. On the southern slopes and inland regions, where the rainy season extends from May to October, rainfall decreases in July and August, so that the wettest months are May-June and September-October. The capital, Tegucigalpa, is located 1,000 meters above sea level, in the so-called temperate zone, and enjoys a more pleasant climate than sea-level regions: daytime temperatures generally range from 26.5°C in December to 31°C in April.
From December to March, on the coldest nights, temperatures generally fall to around 10°C, but can sometimes drop lower. The Mayan archaeological site of Copán is located 700 metres above sea level and is therefore slightly warmer than the capital. At higher altitudes, the climate becomes cooler. In La Esperanza, at 1,700 meters above sea level, the average temperature ranges from 15.8°C in January to 19.3°C in May.
From December to March, minimum temperatures can drop to 5°C or even lower.
In the far south, in the departments of Valle and Choluteca, there is an area overlooking the Gulf of Fonseca, which then opens onto the Pacific Ocean. On the coast, there are marshes and mangroves. There are a number of islands in the gulf, including Isla Zacate Grande and El Tigre (home to the town of Amapala). The northeasterly trade winds make the air very hot and dry on the Pacific side, especially during the dry season, as the winds descend from the mountains and heat up. In fact, the average daily temperature even reaches 31/32 degrees during the hottest months (March and April) in the southern plains, whereas, as we saw above, it doesn't exceed 27/28°C in the north (during the period from May to June, which is the hottest period). In December and January, the difference is even greater: on the southern coast, the temperature is around 29/30 degrees, while on the Caribbean coast, it's 23/24 degrees.
As for rainfall, here too, as in the central part, there is a rainy period from May to October, during which there is a relative decrease in July. For swimming, the waters of the Pacific Ocean are also warm all year round.
