Enjoying Stormy Weather…

I am comfortably sitting in my desk, looking across the valley and watching the rain, as it is pushed around by some blustery winds. The rain somewhat quiets the sounds of the roaring Cangrejal River which is swollen after an all night rain, product of a cold front that is affecting the coast of Atlantida, in Central America’s Caribbean coast.

But alas, this is our rainy season in this part of the world. And we do get some wintry conditions, with temperatures dropping to the upper sixties or lower seventies. The current temperature is a “chilly” 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

On the bright side, that the rain keeps our lovely Cangrejal River with plenty of water for some World Class white water rafting. The El Bejuco waterfall is flowing magnificently and producing a great show as it drops 200 feet off a cliff towards the Cangrejal River. It also keeps out tropical rain forests green, and then yes, it is nice to have a change from the usually hot, muggy weather that we can have when living on the coast of tropical Central America.

We even enjoy pulling out a sweater to help us keep warm, and then if it gets a bit colder, we can always turn on our fireplace. You see, when we built our bed and breakfast in the lovely Cangrejal River Valley, I really wanted a nice fireplace to give our living room / lobby area a special charm. We seldom use our fireplace, but when we do, we really enjoy it. I believe it is probably the only fireplace in La Ceiba!

When the weather gets bad, the port facility in La Ceiba is shut down, and there are no ferry boats to the bay islands. If this is the case with you, relax, book a room at La Villa de Soledad B&B, where the pleasures of enjoying stormy weather will become a great experience. Who knows, we might even turn our fireplace on if you request it!

October 26, 2014

weather in La Ceiba Cangrejal River, La Ceiba, rainy season 0

Being located on the Caribbean Coast of Honduras, La Ceiba is home to some of the most humid tropical rain forests in Central America. As the name properly states it, the tropical rain forests of Central America get a lot of rain. However, there is a distinct rainy season in La Ceiba when we get more rain that the average.

The rainy season in La Ceiba is comprehended between the months of September and January, however the rain starts before and ends after. The driest months of the year are March and April, and although this is officially a dry season, it is very common to get some rains and squalls during these months. This rainy season in La Ceiba contrasts with the rainy season in the rest of Honduras and Central America, which is May through September. The reason for this is that while the rest of Central America’s weather is affected mostly by what is going on in the Pacific Coast, La Ceiba, as well as much of the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua are affected almost exclusively by what is going on the Caribbean.

The start of the rainy season in La Ceiba coincides with the weather patterns that form tropical cyclones in the Western Caribbean Sea. This usually happens in the last 45 days of the Atlantic Tropical Cyclone season, corresponding to the month of October and the first half of November. The other weather pattern that affects the rainy season in La Ceiba are the cold fronts that come from North America. These typically begin at the beginning of November and continue through the month of February. These fronts with cold air will come across the Gulf of Mexico, into the Gulf of Honduras and collide with the hot humid atmosphere of the mountains in Northern Honduras, turning into potent rain producing meteorological events.

Although the risk of being impacted by a hurricane along the north coast of Honduras is relatively small, the probability of rain from the cold fronts is much more elevated. These events have little impact in lowering the temperature along the Caribbean Coast, but produce copious amounts of rain. Thus the rainy season in La Ceiba is comprehended between September and February, with October and November being the rainiest months.