Climate of Honduras Eugene S. Takle Professor Department of
Agronomy [email protected] Slide 2 Overview Big Picture Big
Picture Global circulation Global circulation Global climate
perspective Global climate perspective Regional and local
influences Regional and local influences Local Influences Local
Influences How can we explain local conditions in the context of
global and regional influences? How can we explain local conditions
in the context of global and regional influences? Climate change
Climate change Slide 3 Image courtesy of NASA/GSFC Slide 4 Slide 5
Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/costaricaclimate.html Slide 10
Slide 11 wet dry Slide 12 Slide 13 Slide 14 Slide 15 Slide 16 Slide
17 Slide 18 Tegucigalpa Elevation 1,007 m Slide 19
http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/honduras-climate-weather.html
Slide 20 Honduras is hot and humid almost year-round. Temperatures
vary by altitude rather than season. The average high temperature
nationwide is 32 o C (90 o F) and the average low is 20 o C (68 o
F). Temperatures are coolest in mountain areas.
http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/honduras-climate-weather.html
Climate of Honduras Slide 21 The Caribbean coast can experience a
lot of rain, the heaviest being from September to February. In
Tegucigalpa, the capital, the climate remains more temperate and
the dry season takes place from December to May. The capital can
get chilly between December and January when the temperature in the
city hovers around 23 o C (73 o F).
http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of Honduras Slide
22 Although all of Honduras lies within the tropics, the climatic
types of each of the three physiographic regions differ. The
Caribbean lowlands have a tropical wet climate with consistently
high temperatures and humidity, and rainfall fairly evenly
distributed throughout the year. The Pacific lowlands have a
tropical wet and dry climate with high temperatures but a distinct
dry season from November through April. The interior highlands also
have a distinct dry season, but, as is characteristic of a tropical
highland climate, temperatures in this region decrease as elevation
increases. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of
Honduras Slide 23 Unlike in more northerly latitudes, temperatures
in the tropics vary primarily with elevation instead of with the
season. Both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands have daytime highs
averaging between 28 o C and 32 o C throughout the year. In the
Pacific lowlands, April, the last month of the dry season, brings
the warmest temperatures; the rainy season is slightly cooler,
although higher humidity during the rainy season makes these months
feel more uncomfortable. In the Caribbean lowlands, the only relief
from the year-round heat and humidity comes during December or
January when an occasional strong cold front from the north brings
several days of strong northwest winds and slightly cooler
temperatures. http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of
Honduras Slide 24 Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley and at an
elevation of 1,000 meters, has a pleasant climate, with an average
high temperature ranging from 30 o C in April, the warmest month,
to 25 o C in January, the coolest. Above 2,000 meters, temperatures
can fall to near freezing at night, and frost sometimes occurs.
http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of Honduras Slide
25 Rain falls year round in the Caribbean lowlands but is seasonal
throughout the rest of the country. Amounts are copious along the
north coast, especially in the Mosquitia, where the average
rainfall is 2,400 millimeters. Nearer San Pedro Sula, amounts are
slightly less from November to April, but each month still has
considerable precipitation. The interior highlands and Pacific
lowlands have a dry season, known locally as "summer," from
November to April. Almost all the rain in these regions falls
during the "winter," from May to September. Total yearly amounts
depend on surrounding topography; Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered
valley, averages only 1,000 millimeters of precipitation.
http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of Honduras Slide
26 Honduras lies within the hurricane belt, and the Caribbean coast
is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes or tropical storms that
travel inland from the Caribbean. Hurricane Francelia in 1969 and
Tropical Storm Alleta in 1982 affected thousands of people and
caused extensive damage to crops. Hurricane Fifi in 1974 was the
worst natural disaster in recent Honduran history (until Hurricane
Mitch, 1998); more than 8,000 people were killed, and nearly the
entire banana crop was destroyed. Hurricanes occasionally form over
the Pacific and move north to affect southern Honduras, but Pacific
storms are generally less severe and their landfall rarer.
http://countrystudies.us/honduras/37.htm Climate of Honduras Slide
27 Slide 28 Mangroves Protect the Coastline Slide 29 Monday -
October 26th, 1998 - 9:00 a.m Mitch is classified in the fifth one
- with winds surpassing 150 mph. Monday - October 26th 1998 - 12:00
noon Hurricane Mitch has been upgraded to a category 5, Sustained
winds of 175 MPH have been reported. Monday - October 26th, 1998 -
2:15 p.m. Hurricane Mitch is expected to begin hitting the Bay
Islands within one hour of this writing. Two hours later (05:00
local time) it is expected to reach the mainland of Honduras. The
local TV and radio stations have been constantly warning citizens
of the impending danger and providing tips. Water, batteries,
candles and other necessary survival items have been sold out in
the few stores that are open at this time (two am Monday morn).
These stores are packed with customers stocking up on food and
other provisions. Gas stations also are doing a booming business as
drivers fill their tanks in anticipation of the hurricane. Reports
of the hurricane indicate that it is presently classified as a
number 5 (five) type - which means winds in excess of 150 mph! We
here at Honduras.com will continue to provide updates of the impact
of Hurricane Mitch as long as our communication lines stay open :)
May God Bless Honduras and Protect Her!!! By O Ma R Orbison
Hurricane Mitch: 26 Oct - 4 Nov 1998 Deadliest hurricane in
Honduras in 200 years Slide 30
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/images/Mitch/mitch3_md.jpg Slide 31
Slide 32 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Summary for Policy Makers
Slide 33 Slide 34 Slide 35 Emanual, Kerry, 2005: Increasing
destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years.
Nature, 436, 686-688. Sea-surface temperature VVV Tropical Atlantic
Ocean Hurricane Power Dissipation Index (PDI) Slide 36
Date/Time:Wednesday, 12 Mar 2008 at 7:00 pm Location:Gallery,
Memorial Union Kerry Emanuel is a professor of atmospheric science
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research
interests focus on tropical meteorology and climate, with a
specialty in hurricane physics. Emanuel is the author or coauthor
of over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and two books,
including Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes,
recently released by Oxford University Press. It received the 2007
Louis Battan Author's Award from the American Meteorological
Society. Sigma Xi Spring Lecture. Is Global Warming Affecting
Hurricanes? Kerry Emanuel Slide 37 Weather Reports Roatan:
http://www.weatherreports.com/Honduras/Roatan
http://www.weatherreports.com/Honduras/Roatan Tegucigalpa
http://www.weatherreports.com/Honduras/Tegucigalpa
