San Benito in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), San Benito sees average daytime highs around 29°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 88 mm of rain over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 28°C in early December to 32°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

Winter is San Benito's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see San Benito's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
29°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
19°C
Rainfall
88 mm
19 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
5.9
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in San Benito in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 28°C in early December to 32°C by late February.

A typical winter day in San Benito reaches about 29°C and drops to 19°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

15°20°25°30°35°40°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in San Benito

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 16 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
16
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

San Benito weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 19°307.211.16.2
Feb31° / 20°143.511.45.3
Mar34° / 21°213.511.93.6
Apr36° / 23°365.412.42.0
May36° / 24°9912.212.81.8
Jun34° / 24°20922.7132.2
Jul33° / 23°14120.412.92.5
Aug33° / 23°18722.712.62.3
Sep32° / 23°23426.212.12.4
Oct30° / 23°17020.711.63.5
Nov29° / 21°7912.911.25.1
Dec28° / 20°448.5116.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

San Benito gets around 88 mm of rain over 19 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 06 min in early December to 11 h 36 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.0 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for San Benito

In seasonPeak

None of San Benito's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

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

San Benito's monsoon runs June–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit San Benito?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.9
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
7.5
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit San Benito for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for San Benito in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, San Benito sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 19 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in San Benito in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in San Benito peaks around April 10 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 8 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeExtremeVery highApr 10UV 13Dec 17UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb12Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May9Very high
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov8Very high
Dec8Very high

Air quality in San Benito in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in San Benito is worst in May — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 6.0× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodMay 1334 µg/m³Dec 176 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar11Good
Apr32Moderate
May34Moderate
Jun26Moderate
Jul27Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov7Good
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is San Benito?

San Benito sits at 16.9°N, 89.9°W, 135 m above sea level, in Guatemala. The nearest listed city is Flores, 2.0 km away.

SayaxchéMelchor de MencosPoptúnSan IgnacioBelmopanChisecPunta Gorda

Topography around San Benito

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around San Benito has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 159 m around an average of 142 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 725 m.

The land around San Benito is covered by trees (35%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 3 km, trees (48%) and grassland (40%) within 16 km, and trees (52%) and grassland (46%) within 80 km.

3 km
159 m
16 km
226 m
80 km
725 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Flores 2.0 km · Sayaxché 52 km · Melchor de Mencos 83 km · Poptún 84 km · San Ignacio 94 km · Belmopan 128 km · Chisec 129 km · Punta Gorda 149 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 San Benito (16.9168°, -89.919°, elevation 135 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.