Climate and average weather in Cap-Haïtien

In Cap-Haïtien, 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 November.

Best: late November to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Cap-Haïtien typically varies from 22°C to 28°C, and is rarely below 20°C or above 29°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Cap-Haïtien for warm-weather activities are from mid June to mid July and late November to mid May.

Hottest
Aug
28°
Coldest
Jan
22°
Wettest
Nov
151 mm
Driest
Jul
60 mm
Rain / yr
1175 mm
217 wet days
Daylight
10.8–13.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
7 m
19.8°N
Clearest
Feb
31% cloud

Cap-Haïtien 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 late November to mid May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Cap-Haïtien stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is August, with an average high of 28°C and low of 25°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 22°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 3°C warmer than nights year-round.

18°20°22°24°26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2522
Feb2522
Mar2522
Apr2623
May2724
Jun2825
Jul2825
Aug2825
Sep2825
Oct2825
Nov2623
Dec2622

Average hourly temperature in Cap-Haïtien

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 August afternoons, near 28°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 22°C.

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

Cap-Haïtien 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
Jan25° / 22°10815.410.96.4
Feb25° / 22°7613.511.36.6
Mar25° / 22°9815.311.96.4
Apr26° / 23°9616.812.46.0
May27° / 24°1132012.95.2
Jun28° / 25°6515.513.25.4
Jul28° / 25°6015.413.15.4
Aug28° / 25°8319.312.74.7
Sep28° / 25°10122.312.14.2
Oct28° / 25°12523.411.54.5
Nov26° / 23°1512211.14.9
Dec26° / 22°10117.710.86.0

Chance of rain

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

Cap-Haïtien gets about 1175 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from around Aug 13 to Dec 7, peaking in October at about 77% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 30.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 151 mm over about 22 wet days; July is the driest, with 60 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetOct 18 · 77%Jun 30 · 44%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5115
Feb4814
Mar4915
Apr5617
May6420
Jun5316
Jul4915
Aug6219
Sep7422
Oct7623
Nov7322
Dec5718

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Cap-Haïtien collects about 1175 mm of rain across 217 wet days — roughly 98 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 151 mm, while July is the driest at just 60 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec108769896113656083101125151101
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan10815
Feb7614
Mar9815
Apr9617
May11320
Jun6516
Jul6015
Aug8319
Sep10122
Oct12523
Nov15122
Dec10118

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Cap-Haïtien, 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 21 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around May 6. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 7 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around November 20. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 51% 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 24 · 87%May 31 · 39%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan8218
Feb8614
Mar8515
Apr7822
May5446
Jun4951
Jul6436
Aug5743
Sep5248
Oct5743
Nov6634
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 8, 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)
Jan10.96:305:26
Feb11.36:235:43
Mar11.96:035:54
Apr12.45:356:03
May12.95:176:13
Jun13.25:136:25
Jul13.15:226:27
Aug12.75:336:13
Sep12.15:405:46
Oct11.55:485:20
Nov11.16:035:05
Dec10.86:215:09

Sunny days

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

Cap-Haïtien averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around Nov 24 to May 3. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 22 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 10 sunny days — about 55% fewer than the February peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantFeb 2323 daysMay 296 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan21Bright
Feb20Bright
Mar21Bright
Apr17Bright
May10Mixed
Jun10Mixed
Jul13Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep9Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov14Mixed
Dec19Bright

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.

Cap-Haïtien 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 April, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 95% of the time. Even in March, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 2% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmiserableoppressivemuggyhumid
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan2975140
Feb21272140
Mar21361230
Apr0547480
May0114832
Jun0008812
Jul0008515
Aug0007921
Sep0008416
Oct003925
Nov0223740
Dec1653410

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 Cap-Haïtien is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.4 months, from around Nov 11 to Apr 23. The windiest month is January, averaging about 16 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 17 to Nov 10, with October the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 1 · 16 km/hOct 7 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan16light breeze
Feb16light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May12calm
Jun12calm
Jul15light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep11calm
Oct11calm
Nov14light breeze
Dec15light breeze

Hazard calendar for Cap-Haïtien

In seasonPeak

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

Cap-Haïtien 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 Cap-Haïtien

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid December, Cap-Haïtien is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 times of year to visit Cap-Haïtien for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid June to mid July and again from late November to mid May, with a peak score in the last week of February.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationFeb 27 · 6.8

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
Jan6.4good
Feb6.6good
Mar6.4good
Apr6.0good
May5.2fair
Jun5.4fair
Jul5.4fair
Aug4.7fair
Sep4.2fair
Oct4.5fair
Nov4.9fair
Dec6.0good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Cap-Haïtien for hot-weather activities run from early June to late August and again from late November to mid May, with a peak score in the first week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 1 · 6.5

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 Cap-Haïtien, 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.

Cap-Haïtien packs about the same all year — highs hold near 28°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 August, Cap-Haïtien sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 19 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Cap-Haïtien

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 15 km away) is warmest in September at about 29°C and coldest in February near 26°C.

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

24°26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb26Warm
Mar26Warm
Apr27Warm
May27Warm
Jun28Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov28Tropical
Dec27Warm

UV index (midday) in Cap-Haïtien 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 Cap-Haïtien peaks around June 19 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 19UV 12Dec 15UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov7Very high
Dec7High

Average hourly UV index in Cap-Haïtien

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)
Jan6.53.5
Feb75
Mar86
Apr86
May8.56
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56
Aug86
Sep7.55.5
Oct74.5
Nov63
Dec62.5

Air quality in Cap-Haïtien 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 Cap-Haïtien is worst in June — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (February, 18 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateJun 2031 µg/m³Feb 2218 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan20Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar18Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun32Moderate
Jul30Moderate
Aug27Moderate
Sep24Moderate
Oct25Moderate
Nov22Moderate
Dec20Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Cap-Haïtien 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. Cap-Haïtien banks about 5,508 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan415
Feb373
Mar420
Apr427
May472
Jun490
Jul512
Aug518
Sep500
Oct498
Nov447
Dec435

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.

Cap-Haïtien receives about 5.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.4 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around Mar 5 to Sep 27. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 4.4 kWh/m² — roughly 37% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 57.1 kWhDec 204.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.7Bright
Feb5.4Bright
Mar6.1Intense
Apr6.6Intense
May6.6Intense
Jun6.9Intense
Jul7.0Intense
Aug6.7Intense
Sep6.2Intense
Oct5.4Bright
Nov4.6Bright
Dec4.4Bright

Where is Cap-Haïtien?

Cap-Haïtien sits at 19.8°N, 72.2°W, 7 m above sea level, in Haiti. The nearest listed city is Lenbe, 22 km away.

LenbeTerrier RougeSaint-RaphaëlSaint-Michel de l'AtalayeDajabónSan Fernando de Monte CristiGonaïvesDessalines

Topography around Cap-Haïtien

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cap-Haïtien has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 680 m around an average of 76 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 795 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,768 m.

The land around Cap-Haïtien is covered by water (40%), trees (29%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, water (54%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and water (35%), grassland (34%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
680 m
16 km
795 m
80 km
1,768 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Nearby: Lenbe 22 km · Terrier Rouge 29 km · Saint-Raphaël 36 km · Saint-Michel de l'Atalaye 46 km · Dajabón 56 km · San Fernando de Monte Cristi 59 km · Gonaïves 62 km · Dessalines 65 km

Haiti travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B
110 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 86% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,694
2025
Happiness
3.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2020
Homicide rate
41.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
18.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 444
Religion
Catholic 55%Protestant 29%none 10%other 5%

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 Cap-Haïtien (19.7594°, -72.1981°, elevation 7 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).