Climate and Average Weather Year Round in El Cortezo Panama

In El Cortezo, the wet season is warm and overcast; the dry season is hot, windy, and partly cloudy; and it is oppressive year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 71°F to 90°F and is rarely below 69°F or above 94°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit El Cortezo for hot-weather activities is from early December to late March.

The hot season lasts for 1.8 months, from February 29 to April 23, with an average daily high temperature above 88°F. The hottest month of the year in El Cortezo is April, with an average high of 89°F and low of 75°F.

The cool season lasts for 6.7 months, from June 5 to December 27, with an average daily high temperature below 82°F. The coldest month of the year in El Cortezo is January, with an average low of 72°F and high of 83°F.

In El Cortezo, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in El Cortezo begins around November 23 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around April 15.

The clearest month of the year in El Cortezo is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 49% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 15 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around November 23.

The cloudiest month of the year in El Cortezo is August, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 95% 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 El Cortezo varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.4 months, from April 28 to December 7, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in El Cortezo is October, with an average of 14.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.7 months, from December 7 to April 28. The month with the fewest wet days in El Cortezo is February, with an average of 1.0 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 El Cortezo is October, with an average of 14.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 49% on October 23.

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. El Cortezo experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 10 months, from March 14 to January 17, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in El Cortezo is October, with an average rainfall of 8.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from January 17 to March 14. The month with the least rain in El Cortezo is February, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in El Cortezo does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 33 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 42 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:04 AM on May 25, and the latest sunrise is 37 minutes later at 6:41 AM on January 31. The earliest sunset is at 6:00 PM on November 12, and the latest sunset is 43 minutes later at 6:43 PM on July 14.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in El Cortezo 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.

The perceived humidity level in El Cortezo, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 3% of 97% throughout.

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 El Cortezo experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from December 24 to April 14, with average wind speeds of more than 8.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in El Cortezo is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.3 months, from April 14 to December 24. The calmest month of the year in El Cortezo is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in El Cortezo varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 6.7 months, from May 10 to November 30, with a peak percentage of 80% on October 12. The wind is most often from the north for 5.4 months, from November 30 to May 10, with a peak percentage of 85% on January 1.

El Cortezo 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 does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 1°F of 82°F throughout.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in El Cortezo 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 El Cortezo for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to mid February, 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 El Cortezo for hot-weather activities is from early December to late March, with a peak score in the first week of January.

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 El Cortezo 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from January 15 to April 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in El Cortezo is March, with an average of 6.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from May 17 to October 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in El Cortezo is July, with an average of 2.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of El Cortezo are 7.427 deg latitude, -80.633 deg longitude, and 492 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of El Cortezo contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,778 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 683 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,003 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,095 feet).

The area within 2 miles of El Cortezo is covered by trees (35%), grassland (32%), and cropland (29%), within 10 miles by trees (45%) and cropland (33%), and within 50 miles by water (61%) and grassland (13%).