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Climate of Honduras. Eugene S. Takle Professor Department of Agronomy gstakle@iastate.edu. Overview. Big Picture Global circulation Global climate perspective Regional and local influences Local Influences
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Climate of Honduras Eugene S. Takle Professor Department of Agronomy gstakle@iastate.edu
Overview • Big Picture • Global circulation • Global climate perspective • Regional and local influences • Local Influences • How can we explain local conditions in the context of global and regional influences? • Climate change
wet dry http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/costaricaclimate.html
Tegucigalpa Elevation 1,007 m
http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/honduras-climate-weather.htmlhttp://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/honduras-climate-weather.html
Climate of Honduras Honduras is hot and humid almost year-round. Temperatures vary by altitude rather than season. The average high temperature nationwide is 32oC (90oF) and the average low is 20oC (68oF). Temperatures are coolest in mountain areas. http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/honduras-climate-weather.html
Climate of Honduras The Caribbean coast can experience a lot of rain, the heaviest being from September to February. In Tegucigalpa, the capital, the climate remains more temperate and the dry season takes place from December to May. The capital can get chilly between December and January when the temperature in the city hovers around 23oC (73oF). http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Climate of Honduras 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. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Climate of Honduras Unlike in more northerly latitudes, temperatures in the tropics vary primarily with elevation instead of with the season. Both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands have daytime highs averaging between 28o C and 32o 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 brings several days of strong northwest winds and slightly cooler temperatures. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Climate of Honduras Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley and at an elevation of 1,000 meters, has a pleasant climate, with an average high temperature ranging from 30o C in April, the warmest month, to 25o C in January, the coolest. Above 2,000 meters, temperatures can fall to near freezing at night, and frost sometimes occurs. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Climate of Honduras 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. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Climate of Honduras 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 (until Hurricane Mitch, 1998); 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. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm
Hurricane Mitch: 26 Oct - 4 Nov 1998 Deadliest hurricane in Honduras in 200 years Monday - October 26th, 1998 - 9:00 a.m Mitch is classified in the fifth one - with winds surpassing 150 mph. Monday - October 26th 1998 - 12:00 noon Hurricane Mitch has been upgraded to a category 5, Sustained winds of 175 MPH have been reported. Monday - October 26th, 1998 - 2:15 p.m. Hurricane Mitch is expected to begin hitting the Bay Islands within one hour of this writing. Two hours later (05:00 local time) it is expected to reach the mainland of Honduras. The local TV and radio stations have been constantly warning citizens of the impending danger and providing tips. Water, batteries, candles and other necessary survival items have been sold out in the few stores that are open at this time (two am Monday morn). These stores are packed with customers stocking up on food and other provisions. Gas stations also are doing a booming business as drivers fill their tanks in anticipation of the hurricane. Reports of the hurricane indicate that it is presently classified as a number 5 (five) type - which means winds in excess of 150 mph! We here at Honduras.com will continue to provide updates of the impact of Hurricane Mitch as long as our communication lines stay open :) May God Bless Honduras and Protect Her!!! By O Ma R Orbison
Tropical Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Power Dissipation Index (PDI) Sea-surface temperature V V V Emanual, Kerry, 2005: Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature, 436, 686-688.
Is Global Warming Affecting Hurricanes? Kerry Emanuel Date/Time: Wednesday, 12 Mar 2008 at 7:00 pm Location: Gallery, Memorial Union Kerry Emanuel is a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests focus on tropical meteorology and climate, with a specialty in hurricane physics. Emanuel is the author or coauthor of over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and two books, including Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes, recently released by Oxford University Press. It received the 2007 Louis Battan Author's Award from the American Meteorological Society. Sigma Xi Spring Lecture.
Weather Reports Roatan: http://www.weatherreports.com/Honduras/Roatan Tegucigalpa http://www.weatherreports.com/Honduras/Tegucigalpa
