Climate and average weather in Guantánamo

In Guantánamo, the weather is muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around May.

Best: early January to late March

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Guantánamo typically varies from 19°C to 33°C, and is rarely below 17°C or above 34°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Guantánamo for warm-weather activities are from early January to late March and mid November to late December.

Hottest
Jul
33°
Coldest
Jan
19°
Wettest
May
139 mm
Driest
Feb
16 mm
Rain / yr
875 mm
148 wet days
Daylight
10.8–13.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
56 m
20.1°N
Clearest
Feb
33% cloud

Guantánamo weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to late March.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Guantánamo, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Guantánamo stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is July, with an average high of 33°C and low of 24°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 19°C and high of 28°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights year-round.

15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2819
Feb2919
Mar2920
Apr3021
May3122
Jun3223
Jul3324
Aug3224
Sep3223
Oct3023
Nov2922
Dec2820

How hot and cold Guantánamo really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Guantánamo feels like about 37°C (around August 7). About 196 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan29281919
Feb30291919
Mar30292020
Apr31302121
May33312222
Jun35322323
Jul37332424
Aug37322424
Sep36322323
Oct34302323
Nov31292122
Dec30282020

Average hourly temperature in Guantánamo

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 33°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Guantánamo weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 19°164.210.97.1
Feb29° / 19°163.611.36.8
Mar29° / 20°346.411.96.1
Apr30° / 21°589.712.45.2
May31° / 22°13917.212.94.0
Jun32° / 23°9916.713.23.4
Jul33° / 24°7716.713.13.2
Aug32° / 24°9818.412.73.1
Sep32° / 23°13721.612.13.1
Oct30° / 23°11718.711.53.9
Nov29° / 22°5810115.5
Dec28° / 20°265.210.86.8

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Guantánamo gets about 875 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.2 months, from around May 1 to Nov 6, peaking in September at about 74% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 10.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 139 mm over about 17 wet days; February is the driest, with 16 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 19 · 74%Feb 10 · 12%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan134
Feb134
Mar216
Apr3210
May5517
Jun5617
Jul5317
Aug6018
Sep7222
Oct6119
Nov3310
Dec175

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Guantánamo collects about 875 mm of rain across 148 wet days — roughly 73 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 139 mm, while February is the driest at just 16 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 45% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec161634581399977981371175826
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan164
Feb164
Mar346
Apr5810
May13917
Jun9917
Jul7717
Aug9818
Sep13722
Oct11719
Nov5810
Dec265

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Guantánamo, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around May 7. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around November 4. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeb 21 · 89%Jun 5 · 30%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan8416
Feb8812
Mar8218
Apr7525
May5050
Jun4060
Jul5743
Aug5149
Sep4258
Oct5050
Nov6733
Dec7921

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 4, brings about 13 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.96:435:37
Feb11.36:365:55
Mar11.96:156:06
Apr12.45:476:15
May12.95:296:26
Jun13.25:256:37
Jul13.15:336:40
Aug12.75:446:26
Sep12.15:525:59
Oct11.56:005:32
Nov11.06:155:17
Dec10.86:335:21

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Guantánamo averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.0 months, from around Nov 5 to May 5. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is June, down near 6 sunny days — about 67% fewer than the February peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantFeb 1720 daysJun 24 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan19Bright
Feb18Bright
Mar16Bright
Apr13Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul10Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep6Gloomy
Oct8Gloomy
Nov13Mixed
Dec18Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

Guantánamo is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.

The stickiest month is May, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 94% of the time. Even in March, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 10% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 7 · 14%May 18 · 0%muggyoppressivehumidcomfortablecomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan18306110
Feb111414800
Mar19375210
Apr03226690
May00545490
Jun00015841
Jul00016841
Aug0007921
Sep0002952
Oct00111881
Nov01941490
Dec041570120

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Guantánamo is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Nov 1 to Apr 25. The windiest month is January, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 26 to Oct 31, with June the calmest month at about 6 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 1 · 9 km/hJun 4 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar9calm
Apr8calm
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul7calm
Aug7calm
Sep6calm
Oct6calm
Nov8calm
Dec9calm

Hazard calendar for Guantánamo

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Guantánamo sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Guantánamo

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Guantánamo throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late March, Guantánamo is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Guantánamo for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late March, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 5 · 7.1

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan7.1good
Feb6.8good
Mar6.1good
Apr5.2fair
May4.0fair
Jun3.4poor
Jul3.2poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep3.0poor
Oct3.9fair
Nov5.5good
Dec6.8good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Guantánamo for hot-weather activities is from mid November to late April, with a peak score in the third week of February.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationFeb 18 · 8.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Guantánamo, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

Guantánamo packs about the same all year — highs hold near 33°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Guantánamo sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 17 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Guantánamo

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 31 km away) is warmest in September at about 30°C and coldest in February near 27°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb27Warm
Mar27Warm
Apr27Warm
May28Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug30Tropical
Sep30Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov29Tropical
Dec28Warm

UV index (midday) in Guantánamo by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Guantánamo peaks around June 16 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 7 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 16UV 12Dec 15UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov7Very high
Dec7High

Average hourly UV index in Guantánamo

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan63.5
Feb75
Mar7.55.5
Apr86
May8.56
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56
Aug86
Sep85.5
Oct75
Nov63
Dec62.5

Air quality in Guantánamo by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Guantánamo is worst in June — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.9× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJun 2223 µg/m³Dec 195 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan5Good
Feb6Good
Mar7Good
Apr9Good
May13Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul22Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov6Good
Dec5Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Guantánamo is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Guantánamo banks about 5,805 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan427
Feb392
Mar449
Apr463
May504
Jun520
Jul561
Aug560
Sep520
Oct510
Nov458
Dec443

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Guantánamo receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.2 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Mar 2 to Sep 20. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 4.2 kWh/m² — roughly 38% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 36.8 kWhDec 164.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.5Bright
Feb5.2Bright
Mar5.9Bright
Apr6.4Intense
May6.3Intense
Jun6.5Intense
Jul6.8Intense
Aug6.4Intense
Sep5.7Bright
Oct4.9Bright
Nov4.3Bright
Dec4.2Bright

Where is Guantánamo?

Guantánamo sits at 20.1°N, 75.2°W, 56 m above sea level, in Cuba. The nearest listed city is Río Guayabal de Yateras, 32 km away.

MoaSantiago de CubaSan LuisBaracoaPalma SorianoCueto

Topography around Guantánamo

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Guantánamo.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Guantánamo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 63 m around an average of 52 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 734 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,196 m.

The land around Guantánamo is covered by artificial surfaces (37%), trees (31%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, trees (45%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and trees (49%) and water (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
63 m
16 km
734 m
80 km
1,196 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetlandmangroves
Nearby: Río Guayabal de Yateras 32 km · Sagua de Tánamo 49 km · Moa 63 km · Santiago de Cuba 65 km · San Luis 67 km · Baracoa 78 km · Palma Soriano 82 km · Cueto 94 km

Cuba travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B / C / L
110 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 39% of US
price level, 2011
GDP per capita
$9,605
2020
Happiness
5.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2011
Homicide rate
4.5
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
8.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 515
Religion
Christian 59%none 23%folk religion 18%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Guantánamo (20.1444°, -75.2092°, elevation 56 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).