Climate and average weather in Masatepe

In Masatepe, the weather is humid, sweltering, wet, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near sweltering levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around October.

Best: late November to mid March

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Masatepe typically varies from 22°C to 34°C, and is rarely below 20°C or above 35°C. April is the hottest month of the year, while October is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Masatepe for warm-weather activities is from late November to mid March.

Hottest
Apr
34°
Coldest
Oct
22°
Wettest
Oct
318 mm
Driest
Feb
3 mm
Rain / yr
1721 mm
169 wet days
Daylight
11.3–12.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
456 m
11.9°N
Clearest
Feb
26% cloud

Masatepe is Town in Nicaragua, administrative seat of the Masatepe Municipality in the Masaya Department.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Masatepe 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 March.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Masatepe stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is April, with an average high of 34°C and low of 23°C; the coolest is October, with an average low of 22°C and high of 30°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in March.

15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3122
Feb3222
Mar3322
Apr3423
May3224
Jun3023
Jul3023
Aug3123
Sep3023
Oct3022
Nov3022
Dec3022

How hot and cold Masatepe really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Masatepe feels like about 36°C (around April 29). About 310 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in April.

20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan32312222
Feb33322222
Mar34332222
Apr36342323
May36322324
Jun34302323
Jul34302323
Aug34312323
Sep34302323
Oct33302222
Nov33302222
Dec32302222

Average hourly temperature in Masatepe

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 34°C, and coldest before dawn in October, near 22°C.

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

Masatepe 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
Jan31° / 22°40.911.46.0
Feb32° / 22°30.711.65.5
Mar33° / 22°51.311.94.6
Apr34° / 23°325.712.33.5
May32° / 24°23820.112.52.9
Jun30° / 23°28124.712.73.0
Jul30° / 23°17621.212.63.5
Aug31° / 23°23224.312.43.1
Sep30° / 23°3182812.12.7
Oct30° / 22°31826.711.73.1
Nov30° / 22°1021311.54.6
Dec30° / 22°132.611.35.9

Chance of rain

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

Masatepe gets about 1721 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 6.3 months, from around May 6 to Nov 12, peaking in September at about 96% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 29.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 318 mm over about 27 wet days; February is the driest, with 3 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 22 · 96%Jan 29 · 2%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan31
Feb21
Mar51
Apr196
May6520
Jun8225
Jul6921
Aug7824
Sep9328
Oct8527
Nov4313
Dec103

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Masatepe collects about 1721 mm of rain across 169 wet days — roughly 143 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 318 mm, while February is the driest at just 3 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 53% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4353223828117623231831810213
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan41
Feb31
Mar51
Apr326
May23820
Jun28125
Jul17621
Aug23224
Sep31828
Oct31827
Nov10213
Dec133

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Masatepe, 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 15 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around April 29. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 91% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 30 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around November 14. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 82% 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 11 · 92%Sep 30 · 14%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan9010
Feb919
Mar8812
Apr6733
May2773
Jun1882
Jul2575
Aug2476
Sep1882
Oct2179
Nov5149
Dec8020

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 2, brings about 12 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.46:135:35
Feb11.66:115:47
Mar11.95:575:52
Apr12.35:375:53
May12.55:245:57
Jun12.75:246:06
Jul12.65:316:09
Aug12.45:376:01
Sep12.15:375:41
Oct11.75:385:22
Nov11.55:475:13
Dec11.36:025:20

Sunny days

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

Masatepe averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 25 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.2 months, from around Nov 19 to Apr 26. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is October, down near 3 sunny days — about 89% fewer than the February peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantFeb 925 daysOct 11 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan23Bright
Feb22Brilliant
Mar23Bright
Apr15Bright
May5Gloomy
Jun2Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug3Gloomy
Sep2Gloomy
Oct3Gloomy
Nov10Mixed
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.

Masatepe 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 May, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 97% of the time. Even in March, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 5% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmuggyoppressivehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan06296310
Feb15375610
Mar05375430
Apr012062171
May00329643
Jun0006913
Jul00013871
Aug0008911
Sep0002971
Oct0004941
Nov01737550
Dec031968100

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 Masatepe is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around Nov 28 to Apr 25. The windiest month is February, averaging about 19 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 4 to Nov 27, with September the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyFeb 9 · 19 km/hSep 26 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan18light breeze
Feb19light breeze
Mar17light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May10calm
Jun10calm
Jul14light breeze
Aug11calm
Sep8calm
Oct7calm
Nov11calm
Dec16light breeze

Hazard calendar for Masatepe

In seasonPeak

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

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

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

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

Best time to visit Masatepe

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 30 · 6.1

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
Jan6.0good
Feb5.5good
Mar4.6fair
Apr3.6fair
May2.9poor
Jun3.0poor
Jul3.5poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep2.7poor
Oct3.2poor
Nov4.6fair
Dec5.9good

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 Masatepe for hot-weather activities is from late November to mid April, with a peak score in the last week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 25 · 8.7

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 Masatepe, 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.

Masatepe packs about the same all year — highs hold near 34°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, sun protection and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In April, Masatepe sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Masatepe

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 41 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
May29Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul28Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct28Tropical
Nov28Warm
Dec27Warm

UV index (midday) in Masatepe 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 Masatepe peaks around March 22 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 14 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 highMar 22UV 14Dec 14UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov10Very high
Dec9Very high

Average hourly UV index in Masatepe

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 March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 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)
Jan75
Feb86
Mar86
Apr8.56.5
May86
Jun8.56.5
Jul86
Aug86
Sep86
Oct7.55.5
Nov75
Dec74.5

Air quality in Masatepe 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 Masatepe is worst in July — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.5× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1625 µg/m³Jan 187 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr21Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Masatepe 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. Masatepe banks about 6,121 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around April.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan500
Feb465
Mar541
Apr554
May553
Jun502
Jul518
Aug519
Sep491
Oct496
Nov482
Dec501

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.

Masatepe receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.8 and 6.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around Jan 27 to May 19. The brightest month is April, averaging about 6.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is October, down near 4.9 kWh/m² — roughly 28% less than the April peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 36.9 kWhOct 174.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.5Bright
Feb6.1Intense
Mar6.8Intense
Apr6.8Intense
May5.8Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul5.7Bright
Aug5.8Bright
Sep5.4Bright
Oct4.8Bright
Nov5.0Bright
Dec5.2Bright

Where is Masatepe?

Masatepe sits at 11.9°N, 86.1°W, 456 m above sea level, in Nicaragua. The nearest listed city is San Marcos, 6.0 km away.

Topography around Masatepe

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Masatepe has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 241 m around an average of 426 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 797 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,591 m.

The land around Masatepe is covered by trees (88%) within 3 km, trees (73%) within 16 km, and water (43%), trees (31%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
241 m
16 km
797 m
80 km
1,591 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: San Marcos 6.0 km · Masaya 8.0 km · Jinotepe 9.0 km · Diriamba 12 km · El Crucero 20 km · Nandaime 20 km · Granada 21 km · Managua 27 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 Masatepe (11.9145°, -86.1446°, elevation 456 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).