Climate and Average Weather Year Round in San José de Cusmapa Nicaragua

In San José de Cusmapa, the wet season is muggy and overcast, the dry season is mostly clear, and it is warm year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 60°F to 87°F and is rarely below 56°F or above 90°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit San José de Cusmapa for warm-weather activities is from early December to mid March.

The hot season lasts for 1.9 months, from March 10 to May 6, with an average daily high temperature above 86°F. The hottest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is April, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from August 30 to January 1, with an average daily high temperature below 80°F. The coldest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is October, with an average low of 62°F and high of 79°F.

In San José de Cusmapa, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in San José de Cusmapa begins around November 17 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around April 13.

The clearest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 13 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around November 17.

The cloudiest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 89% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in San José de Cusmapa varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from May 11 to October 30, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in San José de Cusmapa is September, with an average of 13.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.4 months, from October 30 to May 11. The month with the fewest wet days in San José de Cusmapa is January, with an average of 0.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in San José de Cusmapa is September, with an average of 13.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 46% on September 18.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. San José de Cusmapa experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from April 7 to November 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in San José de Cusmapa is September, with an average rainfall of 6.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from November 30 to April 7. The month with the least rain in San José de Cusmapa is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in San José de Cusmapa varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 21 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 55 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:18 AM on June 1, and the latest sunrise is 55 minutes later at 6:13 AM on January 23. The earliest sunset is at 5:16 PM on November 19, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 1 minute later at 6:17 PM on July 9.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in San José de Cusmapa during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

San José de Cusmapa experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from April 14 to December 4, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 26% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in San José de Cusmapa is September, with 27.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in San José de Cusmapa is February, with 1.3 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in San José de Cusmapa experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from November 16 to March 27, with average wind speeds of more than 7.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.6 months, from March 27 to November 16. The calmest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in San José de Cusmapa is from the east throughout the year.

San José de Cusmapa is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 4.6 months, from May 13 to October 1, with an average temperature above 85°F. The month of the year in San José de Cusmapa with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 86°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 2.6 months, from December 22 to March 10, with an average temperature below 82°F. The month of the year in San José de Cusmapa with the coolest water is January, with an average temperature of 81°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in San José de Cusmapa throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit San José de Cusmapa for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to mid March, with a peak score in the first week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit San José de Cusmapa for hot-weather activities is from mid February to late April, with a peak score in the last week of March.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in San José de Cusmapa are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.8 months, from February 23 to April 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is March, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from September 3 to November 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in San José de Cusmapa is October, with an average of 5.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of San José de Cusmapa are 13.288 deg latitude, -86.655 deg longitude, and 4,226 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of San José de Cusmapa contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,828 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,640 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,082 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,939 feet).

The area within 2 miles of San José de Cusmapa is covered by trees (45%), cropland (28%), grassland (16%), and shrubs (11%), within 10 miles by trees (33%) and cropland (33%), and within 50 miles by trees (32%) and cropland (29%).