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Nicaragua Climate
Temperature varies little with the seasons in Nicaragua
and
is largely a function of elevation. The tierra
caliente,
or the "hot land," is characteristic of the foothills and
lowlands from sea level to about 750 meters of elevation.
Here,
daytime temperatures average 30° C to 33° C, and night
temperatures
drop to 21° C to 24° C most of the year. The tierra
templada, or the "temperate land," is characteristic
of most
of the central highlands, where elevations range between
750 and
1,600 meters. Here, daytime temperatures are mild (24° C
to 27° C),
and nights are cool (15° C to 21° C). Tierra frķa,
the "cold
land," at elevations above 1,600 meters, is found only on
and
near the highest peaks of the central highlands. Daytime
averages
in this region are 22° C to 24° C, with nighttime lows
below 15° C.
Rainfall varies greatly in Nicaragua. The Caribbean
lowlands
are the wettest section of Central America, receiving
between
2,500 and 6,500 millimeters of rain annually. The western
slopes
of the central highlands and the Pacific lowlands receive
considerably less annual rainfall, being protected from
moistureladen Caribbean trade winds by the peaks of the central
highlands. Mean annual precipitation for the rift valley
and
western slopes of the highlands ranges from 1,000 to 1,500
millimeters. Rainfall is seasonal--May through October is
the
rainy season, and December through April is the driest
period.
During the rainy season, eastern Nicaragua is subject
to
heavy flooding along the upper and middle reaches of all
major
rivers. Near the coast, where river courses widen and
river banks
and natural levees are low, floodwaters spill over onto
the
floodplains until large sections of the lowlands become
continuous sheets of water. River bank agricultural plots
are
often heavily damaged, and considerable numbers of savanna
animals die during these floods. The coast is also subject
to
destructive tropical storms and hurricanes, particularly
from
July through October. The high winds and floods
accompanying
these storms often cause considerable destruction of
property. In
addition, heavy rains (called papagayo storms)
accompanying the passage of a cold front or a low-pressure
area
may sweep from the north through both eastern and western
Nicaragua (particularly the rift valley) from November
through
March. Hurricanes or heavy rains in the central highlands,
where
agriculture has destroyed much of the natural vegetation,
also
cause considerable crop damage and soil erosion. In 1988
Hurricane Joan forced hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans
to
flee their homes and caused more than US$1 billion in
damage,
most of it along the Caribbean coast.
Data as of December 1993
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