Climate and average weather in Chiquimula

In Chiquimula, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are warm and partly cloudy.

Best: early January to late March

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Chiquimula typically varies from 16°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 13°C or above 34°C. April is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

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

Hottest
Apr
30°
Coldest
Dec
16°
Wettest
Sep
223 mm
Driest
Feb
8 mm
Rain / yr
1094 mm
152 wet days
Daylight
11.1–12.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
400 m
14.8°N
Clearest
Mar
41% cloud

Chiquimula 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 Chiquimula, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Chiquimula stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is April, with an average high of 30°C and low of 19°C; the coolest is December, with an average low of 16°C and high of 24°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in April.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2416
Feb2616
Mar2817
Apr3019
May3020
Jun2820
Jul2719
Aug2819
Sep2819
Oct2719
Nov2517
Dec2416

Average hourly temperature in Chiquimula

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 April afternoons, near 30°C, and coldest before dawn in December, near 16°C.

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

Chiquimula 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
Jan24° / 16°11411.28.0
Feb26° / 16°82.711.58.0
Mar28° / 17°103.111.97.2
Apr30° / 19°255.512.35.4
May30° / 20°11015.812.74.2
Jun28° / 20°21523.612.93.8
Jul27° / 19°1422012.84.8
Aug28° / 19°15821.712.54.4
Sep28° / 19°22324.912.13.9
Oct27° / 19°13818.411.75.1
Nov25° / 17°387.911.37.0
Dec24° / 16°164.511.17.8

Chance of rain

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

Chiquimula gets about 1094 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 5.7 months, from around May 10 to Oct 29, peaking in September at about 82% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 25.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 223 mm over about 25 wet days; February is the driest, with 8 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 21 · 82%Feb 25 · 8%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan134
Feb103
Mar103
Apr196
May5016
Jun7724
Jul6620
Aug7122
Sep8125
Oct5918
Nov278
Dec155

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Chiquimula collects about 1094 mm of rain across 152 wet days — roughly 91 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 223 mm, while February is the driest at just 8 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec11810251102151421582231383816
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan114
Feb83
Mar103
Apr256
May11016
Jun21524
Jul14220
Aug15822
Sep22325
Oct13818
Nov388
Dec165

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Chiquimula, 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 11 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around May 7. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 75% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around November 10. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 27 · 77%Jun 21 · 12%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5545
Feb6931
Mar7525
Apr6634
May2971
Jun1486
Jul2179
Aug2278
Sep1585
Oct2278
Nov4060
Dec4753

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 9, brings about 12 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.26:315:44
Feb11.56:285:58
Mar11.96:116:05
Apr12.35:486:08
May12.75:346:15
Jun12.95:326:25
Jul12.85:406:28
Aug12.55:476:17
Sep12.15:505:55
Oct11.75:535:33
Nov11.36:045:22
Dec11.16:215:28

Sunny days

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

Chiquimula averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 16 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.2 months, from around Nov 28 to May 4. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 15 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is September, down near 1 sunny days — about 95% fewer than the March peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightMar 2516 daysSep 231 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb12Mixed
Mar16Bright
Apr11Mixed
May4Gloomy
Jun1Gloomy
Jul1Gloomy
Aug2Gloomy
Sep1Gloomy
Oct2Gloomy
Nov5Gloomy
Dec7Gloomy

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.

In Chiquimula, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around April 24 to November 9. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around November 10 to April 23, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 32% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 18 · 35%Jun 4 · 0%humidmuggycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan7256440
Feb4246930
Mar52460110
Apr11356300
May0329661
Jun006931
Jul004950
Aug003970
Sep002980
Oct0216810
Nov21343430
Dec41862160

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 Chiquimula is typically calm, near 7 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Oct 30 to May 3. The windiest month is January, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 4 to Oct 29, with September the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 11 · 9 km/hSep 18 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb8calm
Mar8calm
Apr8calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov8calm
Dec8calm

Hazard calendar for Chiquimula

In seasonPeak

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

Chiquimula's monsoon runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Chiquimula

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid March, Chiquimula 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 Chiquimula for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to late March, with a peak score in the third week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 16 · 8.1

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
Jan8.0ideal
Feb7.9ideal
Mar7.2good
Apr5.5fair
May4.2fair
Jun3.8fair
Jul4.7fair
Aug4.4fair
Sep3.9fair
Oct5.1fair
Nov7.0good
Dec7.8ideal

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 Chiquimula for hot-weather activities is from early December to early May, with a peak score in the last week of March.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMar 23 · 8.3

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 Chiquimula, 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.

For a warm-season trip around April (highs near 30°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 24°C), pack light clothes.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In April, Chiquimula sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Chiquimula 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 Chiquimula peaks around April 12 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 9 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highApr 12UV 14Dec 15UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Very high
Feb13Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov9Very high
Dec9Very high

Average hourly UV index in Chiquimula

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 April 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)
Jan74.5
Feb7.56
Mar86
Apr8.56.5
May86
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56.5
Aug8.56.5
Sep86
Oct7.55.5
Nov74.5
Dec6.54.5

Air quality in Chiquimula 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 Chiquimula is worst in April — around 42 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 4.0× the cleanest month (December, 10 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorModerateGoodApr 2141 µg/m³Dec 2010 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb12Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr42Poor
May37Poor
Jun22Moderate
Jul22Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep17Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Chiquimula 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. Chiquimula banks about 4,596 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan308
Feb310
Mar391
Apr435
May460
Jun422
Jul411
Aug419
Sep407
Oct390
Nov329
Dec314

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.

Chiquimula receives about 5.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.1 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Feb 14 to Sep 14. The brightest month is April, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 4.1 kWh/m² — roughly 33% less than the April peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 176.2 kWhDec 34.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.3Bright
Feb5.1Bright
Mar5.8Bright
Apr6.1Intense
May5.6Bright
Jun5.2Bright
Jul5.3Bright
Aug5.4Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct4.4Bright
Nov4.1Bright
Dec4.1Bright

Where is Chiquimula?

Chiquimula sits at 14.8°N, 89.5°W, 400 m above sea level, in Guatemala. The nearest listed city is Zacapa, 19 km away.

San Luis JilotepequeEsquipulasGualánCopán RuinasJalapaMetapánAsunción Mita

Topography around Chiquimula

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Chiquimula has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 464 m around an average of 435 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,621 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,990 m.

The land around Chiquimula is covered by grassland (37%), artificial surfaces (21%) and shrubs (20%) within 3 km, trees (40%), shrubs (32%) and grassland (25%) within 16 km, and trees (64%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
464 m
16 km
1,621 m
80 km
2,990 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Zacapa 19 km · San Luis Jilotepeque 26 km · Esquipulas 34 km · Gualán 41 km · Copán Ruinas 42 km · Jalapa 51 km · Metapán 53 km · Asunción Mita 55 km

Guatemala travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 43% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$6,598
2025
Happiness
6.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
49%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
23.4
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
22.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 510
Religion
Evangelical 46%Roman Catholic 42%none 11%

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 Chiquimula (14.8009°, -89.5464°, elevation 400 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. 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).