El Castillo in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), El Castillo sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 214 mm of rain over about 60 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 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.
Winter is El Castillo's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. El Castillo 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 El Castillo's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 28°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 22°C
- Rainfall
- 214 mm
- 60 wet days
- Avg wind
- 11 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.6
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in El Castillo in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.
A typical winter day in El Castillo reaches about 28°C and drops to 22°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in El Castillo
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.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
El Castillo 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28° / 22° | 60 | 20.2 | 11.4 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 29° / 22° | 41 | 15.9 | 11.6 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 30° / 22° | 31 | 12 | 11.9 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 31° / 23° | 47 | 13.4 | 12.2 | 3.9 |
| May | 31° / 24° | 220 | 25.9 | 12.5 | 2.7 |
| Jun | 30° / 24° | 297 | 29.6 | 12.6 | 2.5 |
| Jul | 30° / 23° | 271 | 30.3 | 12.6 | 2.7 |
| Aug | 30° / 23° | 260 | 29.9 | 12.4 | 2.6 |
| Sep | 31° / 23° | 290 | 29.4 | 12.1 | 2.4 |
| Oct | 30° / 23° | 301 | 29.7 | 11.8 | 2.7 |
| Nov | 29° / 23° | 212 | 26 | 11.5 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 28° / 22° | 112 | 24.2 | 11.4 | 4.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
El Castillo gets around 214 mm of rain over 60 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 11 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 11 h 24 min in early December to 11 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.0 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for El Castillo
None of El Castillo's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
El Castillo sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.
El Castillo's rainy season runs May–November, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit El Castillo?
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.
winter is a reasonable time to visit El Castillo for sightseeing.
What to pack for El Castillo in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, El Castillo sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 60 days see rain.
Sea temperature near El Castillo 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 69 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | Warm |
| Feb | 27 | Warm |
| Mar | 28 | Warm |
| Apr | 28 | Tropical |
| May | 29 | Tropical |
| Jun | 29 | Tropical |
| Jul | 28 | Tropical |
| Aug | 29 | Tropical |
| Sep | 29 | Tropical |
| Oct | 29 | Tropical |
| Nov | 28 | Tropical |
| Dec | 27 | Warm |
UV index in El Castillo in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in El Castillo peaks around March 19 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 9 (very high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 13 | Extreme |
| Mar | 14 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 12 | Extreme |
| Jun | 13 | Extreme |
| Jul | 12 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 10 | Extreme |
| Dec | 9 | Very high |
Air quality in El Castillo in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in El Castillo is worst in July — around 24 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 7 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Good |
| Feb | 9 | Good |
| Mar | 10 | Good |
| Apr | 18 | Moderate |
| May | 22 | Moderate |
| Jun | 20 | Moderate |
| Jul | 24 | Moderate |
| Aug | 19 | Moderate |
| Sep | 13 | Moderate |
| Oct | 10 | Good |
| Nov | 7 | Good |
| Dec | 7 | Good |
Where is El Castillo?
El Castillo sits at 11.0°N, 84.4°W, 0 m above sea level, in Nicaragua. The nearest listed city is San Carlos, 43 km away.
Topography around El Castillo
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of El Castillo.
Within 3 km, the terrain around El Castillo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 128 m around an average of 59 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 403 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,141 m.
The land around El Castillo is covered by trees (69%) and grassland (26%) within 3 km, trees (67%) and grassland (31%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) and grassland (28%) within 80 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
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 El Castillo (11.0189°, -84.397°, elevation 0 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.