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Honduras Climate
Although all of Honduras lies within the tropics, the
climatic
types of each of the three physiographic regions differ.
The
Caribbean lowlands have a tropical wet climate with
consistently
high temperatures and humidity, and rainfall fairly evenly
distributed throughout the year. The Pacific lowlands have
a
tropical wet and dry climate with high temperatures but a
distinct
dry season from November through April. The interior
highlands also
have a distinct dry season, but, as is characteristic of a
tropical
highland climate, temperatures in this region decrease as
elevation
increases.
Unlike in more northerly latitudes, temperatures in the
tropics
vary primarily with elevation instead of with the season.
Land below 1,000 meters is commonly known as tierra
caliente
(hot land), between 1,000 and 2,000 meters tierra
templada
(temperate land), and above 2,000 meters tierra
frķa (cold
land). Both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands are
tierra
caliente, with daytime highs averaging between 28° C
and 32° C
throughout the year. In the Pacific lowlands, April, the
last month
of the dry season, brings the warmest temperatures; the
rainy
season is slightly cooler, although higher humidity during
the
rainy season makes these months feel more uncomfortable.
In the
Caribbean lowlands, the only relief from the year-round
heat and
humidity comes during December or January when an
occasional strong
cold front from the north (a norte) brings several
days of
strong northwest winds and slightly cooler temperatures.
The interior highlands range from tierra
templada to
tierra frķa. Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley and
at an
elevation of 1,000 meters, has a pleasant climate, with an
average
high temperature ranging from 30° C in April, the warmest
month, to
25° C in January, the coolest. Above 2,000 meters,
temperatures can
fall to near freezing at night, and frost sometimes
occurs.
Rain falls year round in the Caribbean lowlands but is
seasonal
throughout the rest of the country. Amounts are copious
along the
north coast, especially in the Mosquitia, where the
average
rainfall is 2,400 millimeters. Nearer San Pedro Sula,
amounts are
slightly less from November to April, but each month still
has
considerable precipitation. The interior highlands and
Pacific
lowlands have a dry season, known locally as "summer,"
from
November to April. Almost all the rain in these regions
falls
during the "winter," from May to September. Total yearly
amounts
depend on surrounding topography; Tegucigalpa, in a
sheltered
valley, averages only 1,000 millimeters of precipitation.
Honduras lies within the hurricane belt, and the
Caribbean coast
is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes or tropical
storms that
travel inland from the Caribbean. Hurricane Francelia in
1969 and
Tropical Storm Alleta in 1982 affected thousands of people
and
caused extensive damage to crops. Hurricane Fifi in 1974
was the
worst natural disaster in recent Honduran history; more
than 8,000
people were killed, and nearly the entire banana crop was
destroyed. Hurricanes occasionally form over the Pacific
and move
north to affect southern Honduras, but Pacific storms are
generally
less severe and their landfall rarer.
Data as of December 1993
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