Weather in South & Central America

Central American Weather

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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

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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 Quito Cuenca Galapagos Ibarra Riobamba Tiputini (Amazon region)	Peru Cusco Arequipa Nazca Puerto Maldonado Lima Pisco Puno	Argentina Buenos Aires El Calafate La Rioja Puerto Madryn - Trelew Salta Ushuaia	Chile Santiago Puerto Montt Temuco Puerto Natales Punta Arenas Antofagasta
Bolivia La Paz Sucre Uyuni Potosi	Costa Rica                 San Jose                    Limon	Guatemala  Flores     Guatemala City    Antigua	Belize    Belize City     Belmopan     Dangriga
	Panama  Panama City

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