Bluefields in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Bluefields sees average daytime highs around 27°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 301 mm of rain over about 69 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Winter is Bluefields's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Bluefields has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Bluefields's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
27°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
24°C
Rainfall
301 mm
69 wet days
Avg wind
15 km/h
Travel score
4.7
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Bluefields in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 27°C.

A typical winter day in Bluefields reaches about 27°C and drops to 24°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°23°25°28°30°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Bluefields

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

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

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Bluefields 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
Jan27° / 23°9423.911.44.8
Feb27° / 24°601911.65.2
Mar28° / 24°4815.911.95.8
Apr29° / 25°6517.412.34.8
May29° / 25°24626.212.53.4
Jun29° / 25°33829.112.72.9
Jul28° / 25°35630.212.63.0
Aug29° / 25°31830.212.42.9
Sep29° / 25°28628.912.12.9
Oct29° / 24°31428.611.73.1
Nov28° / 24°26826.411.43.8
Dec27° / 24°14726.111.34.2

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Bluefields gets around 301 mm of rain over 69 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%100%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels oppressive — 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 15 km/h across winter.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 18 min in early December to 11 h 42 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 4.5 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Bluefields

In seasonPeak

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

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

Bluefields's rainy season runs May–November, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Bluefields?

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.

4.7
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
4.8
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Bluefields for sightseeing.

What to pack for Bluefields in Winter

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

In winter, Bluefields sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 69 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Bluefields in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 27°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 20 km away) is warmest in September at about 29°C and coldest in January near 27°C.

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

26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb27Warm
Mar28Warm
Apr28Tropical
May29Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul28Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov28Tropical
Dec27Warm

UV index in Bluefields in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bluefields peaks around April 11 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 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 11UV 13Dec 17UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov10Extreme
Dec9Very high

Air quality in Bluefields 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 Bluefields is worst in July — around 29 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.6× the cleanest month (November, 6 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1629 µg/m³Nov 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr19Moderate
May23Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul29Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov6Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Bluefields?

Bluefields sits at 12.0°N, 83.8°W, 11 m above sea level, in Nicaragua. The nearest listed city is Pearl Lagoon, 38 km away.

Pearl LagoonRamaNueva GuineaEl CastilloSan CarlosJuigalpaRío BlancoSan José

Topography around Bluefields

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bluefields has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 16 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 137 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 616 m.

The land around Bluefields is covered by water (45%) and trees (33%) within 3 km, water (42%) and trees (37%) within 16 km, and water (41%), trees (32%) and grassland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
137 m
80 km
616 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswaterwetlandmangroves
Winter weather nearby: Pearl Lagoon 38 km · Rama 52 km · Nueva Guinea 84 km · El Castillo 130 km · San Carlos 148 km · Juigalpa 174 km · Río Blanco 189 km · San José 190 km

Nicaragua travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 34% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$3,173
2025
Happiness
6.3 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
11.3
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
16.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 512
Religion
Roman Catholic 45%Protestant 39%none 14%other 1%

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 Bluefields (12.0129°, -83.7645°, elevation 11 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.