Climate and Average Weather Year Round in El Banco Colombia

In El Banco, the summers are short, sweltering, muggy, and dry; the winters are short, warm, oppressive, and wet; and it is overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 76°F to 100°F and is rarely below 73°F or above 105°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 2.5 months, from January 28 to April 13, with an average daily high temperature above 98°F. The hottest month of the year in El Banco is March, with an average high of 100°F and low of 79°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.3 months, from September 24 to December 1, with an average daily high temperature below 90°F. The coldest month of the year in El Banco is October, with an average low of 76°F and high of 88°F.

In El Banco, 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 Banco begins around December 9 and lasts for 3.4 months, ending around March 23.

The clearest month of the year in El Banco is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 40% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 23 and lasts for 8.6 months, ending around December 9.

The cloudiest month of the year in El Banco is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 91% 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 Banco varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.5 months, from April 11 to November 26, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in El Banco is October, with an average of 14.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.5 months, from November 26 to April 11. The month with the fewest wet days in El Banco is January, with an average of 2.1 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 Banco is October, with an average of 14.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 51% on October 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. El Banco experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in El Banco. The month with the most rain in El Banco is October, with an average rainfall of 4.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in El Banco is January, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

The length of the day in El Banco does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 39 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 36 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:35 AM on May 27, and the latest sunrise is 42 minutes later at 6:17 AM on January 29. The earliest sunset is at 5:31 PM on November 14, and the latest sunset is 48 minutes later at 6:19 PM on July 12.

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

El Banco experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.9 months, from March 18 to January 15, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 66% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in El Banco is October, with 30.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in El Banco is February, with 16.1 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 El Banco experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from December 16 to April 8, with average wind speeds of more than 2.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in El Banco is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.2 months, from April 8 to December 16. The calmest month of the year in El Banco is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 1.4 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.0 months, from August 15 to November 14, with a peak percentage of 50% on September 30. The wind is most often from the east for 9.0 months, from November 14 to August 15, with a peak percentage of 83% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in El Banco 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 Banco for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to mid February, with a peak score in the second 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 Banco for hot-weather activities is from early December to mid February, with a peak score in the second 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 Banco 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 2.5 months, from January 13 to March 31, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in El Banco is February, with an average of 6.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from September 9 to November 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in El Banco is October, with an average of 4.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of El Banco are 9.001 deg latitude, -73.976 deg longitude, and 112 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of El Banco is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 72 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 87 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (745 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (8,353 feet).

The area within 2 miles of El Banco is covered by grassland (52%), water (26%), and trees (16%), within 10 miles by water (31%) and grassland (30%), and within 50 miles by trees (44%) and grassland (24%).