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Weather in South & Central America

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Central American Weather

Belize Tours | Costa Rica Tours | Guatemala Tours | Nicaragua Tours | Panama Tours

The only thing predictable about South and Central America's weather is its unpredictability. In fact, in some countries (especially those near the Equator), it's not uncommon to experience all four seasons in a single day. In other regions, seasons are dramatically different with hurricanes during part of the year and drought during another. You can check the Weather links for each country for detailed weather information.

In general, Central America has a distinct wet and dry season. Temperatures are relatively similar year round, but rainfall varies considerably from nearly none at all to 12 inches or more in a single month. The wet season runs from June to October and the dry season from mid November to May. Despite these predictable patterns, it's not unheard of to have a sudden flood in the dry season or to have two weeks of gorgeous weather in the middle of the wet season. Most activities and tours are available year round, though some of our Belize vacations are unavailable from July to October because of the increased hurricane risk.

South American Weather

Amazon Tours | Argentina Tours | Bolivia Tours | Chile Tours | Ecuador Tours | Falkland Island Tours | Guyana Tours | Peru Tours | Uruguay Tours

The Andean regions including parts of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia also have a distinct wet and dry season, though the months are essentially reversed from Central America. May to November tends to be the driest time of year in these areas and also the coldest. The farther you travel away from the Equator and the higher your elevation, the more dramatic the temperatures changes are. In the highlands, temperatures commonly dip below freezing during the peak of the dry season and climb to 80º F or more during the wet season. You shouldn't feel limited by either the rainfall or temperature changes however. The Andean wet season isn't particularly wet and the dry season sees its share of downpours. In general, shoulder season (spring and fall) often offer the best bet for pleasant weather and smaller crowds, though most areas can be visited year round.

The Amazon region experiences...you guessed it, rain, heat and more rain and heat! The average daytime temperature is 32-35º C (90-95º F), while nights can cool down to 20º C (68º F). The less wet season in the jungle roughly corresponds to the dry season in the Andes.

Chile and Argentina cover such a large range of latitudes and elevations that overall generalizations are not particularly useful, though specific regions have somewhat predictable weather patterns. Patagonia, the southern region of these two countries, commonly has temperatures below freezing during their winter months, May to September. During the summer, daytime temperatures may climb into the 50s or 60s. Be prepared for incessant winds anytime of year, especially summer. In the shoulder season months - November and March - you are likely to find the winds not as strong as they are during the peak of summer.

Antarctica travel is only available from November to March as ice blocks main access routes during the remainder of the year. Temperatures along the most commonly visited region, the Antarctic Peninsula, range from -5-5º C (20-40º F) during the summer months. Antarctica experiences the strongest winds on the planet, and is the world's driest desert with minimum annual rainfall, especially in the interior.

South and Central American Weather

Ecuador

Peru

Argentina

Chile

Bolivia

        Costa Rica

                San Jose
                   Limon

Guatemala

Belize

   Belmopan 
   Dangriga
 

Panama



Average High Temperature (°F)
Average Rainfall (inches)

 
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Belize City Temp 80 80 83 85 87 87 86 86 86 84 82 80
  Rain 4.5 2.6 1.9 1.7 4.0 8.6 8.1 7.0 9.5 10.0 7.0 6.7
Buenos Aires 86 83 79 72 66 59 59 62 66 71 77 83
  3.6 4.0 4.4 3.3 2.8 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.4 4.3 3.9 3.7
Cusco 65 65 66 67 67 66 66 67 68 69 69 69
  6.3 5.2 4.3 1.8 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.9 1.9 3.1 4.7
Galapagos 84 86 88 86 82 78 76 74 76 77 78 80
  2.8 4.0 4.5 4.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.4 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.2
Guatemala City 72 75 77 78 78 75 74 74 73 73 72 72
  5.2 4.3 3.8 1.5 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.8 1.5 2 3.6
Guayaquil 88 88 88 90 88 88 85 86 88 86 88 88
  8.8 11 11.3 7.1 2.1 0.7 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.2
Juliaca 56 56 56 56 53 50 49 51 56 58 59 58
  5.2 4.3 3.8 1.5 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.8 1.5 2 3.6
La Paz 55 56 56 57 57 55 55 56 57 58 59 58
  5.1 4.1 2.8 1.4 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.6 1.2 1.6 2.0 3.7
Lima 79 80 80 76 72 69 67 66 67 69 72 76
  0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0
Panama City 88 89 89 88 86 86 86 86 86 84 86 86
  1.2 0.6 0.6 3.0 8.0 7.9 7.3 7.6 7.6 10.3 10.0 5.3
Puerto Maldonado 87 87 87 87 85 84 85 88 89 89 88 88
  13.6 12.8 11.9 6.1 4.2 2.3 2.2 2.5 3.9 6.5 9.3 12.1
Punta Arenas 57 57 54 49 44 39 38 41 76 50 53 56
  1.4 1.1 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.2
Quito 65 66 66 66 66 67 67 67 68 67 67 66
  4.5 5.1 6.0 6.9 4.9 1.9 0.8 1.0 3.1 5.0 4.3 4.1
San Jose 75 76 79 79 80 79 77 78 79 77 77 75
  0.4 0.2 0.5 1.8 8.8 10.9 8.4 9.6 12.8 12.7 5.8 1.6
Santiago 85 84 80 72 64 58 57 61 65 71 77 82
  0.0 0.1 0.2 0.5 2.3 3.1 3.0 2.1 1.1 0.5 0.2 0.2
Ushuaia 57 56 54 49 43 40 39 42 46 50 53 56
  1.5 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.4 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.7
                         

 

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