Thread: Panama Climate

This thread is interesting. I thought there is a winter season in Panama Thanks for the information guys. Panama's climate is like here in my place. But I think, Philippines is a lot colder

i'm also thinking of a trip in august. the temps are basically the same correct ??

Originally Posted by MonAmb

I was told that the climate is very much tropical with humidity levels high and heat levels even higher! I think that tropical weather is always the most unpredictable because the weather can change whenever it wants although that is what is happening all over the world as a result of global warming. I can see the weather in my country becoming somewhat tropical and everyone is beginning to accept that fact.

I beg to differ. It is quite predictable (during the wet season) that at moment's notice, dark clouds will gather and spew precipitation.

Which is your country?

Originally Posted by Panamax

Panama is not unlike Miami or Atlanta (aka Hotlanta) in the summer... One of my favorite effects of the humidity happens upon exiting the airport to Panama City: The second I clear the threshold, I'm struck by sudden blindness. As my glasses fog-up, I can litterally hear the wiff! The "sauna effect" is nothing short of phenomenal.

Funny thing is when I arrived at the airport & went outside to grab a cab, my glasses didn't fog up. But I distinctly remember hopping out of the cab at my destination within Panama City and zoom.. instant fog-up. This was around 8:30 PM, though.

Kyle, the temps will be the same in the August. If you wish, start tracking the temp/humidity in a weather site to get an idea what it'll be like. I find this site handy for weather world-wide: http://weather.yahoo.com

i've been tracking the weather on yahoo. i'm am considering either the dominican republic or panama in august. both are hot/humid but the airfare to panama is good from baltimore (347.00 round trip compared to 600 to the DR). the arrival of hurricane season in the carribean is also another factor. i've never been to panama but i don't want to fry like a piece of bacon either...

Originally Posted by kyle

i've been tracking the weather on yahoo. i'm am considering either the dominican republic or panama in august. both are hot/humid but the airfare to panama is good from baltimore (347.00 round trip compared to 600 to the DR). the arrival of hurricane season in the carribean is also another factor. i've never been to panama but i don't want to fry like a piece of bacon either...

You won't fry like a piece of bacon simply because we're not talking about arrid tripple-digit heat (the likes of which one would experience in, say, Arizona or Nevada), the avarage temperature is about 90°F coupled with high humidity which, ironically enough, has a cooling effect. Arizona/Nevada (in the summer) is a furnace, Panama (year-round) is a sauna.

The tropical climate can be physically oppressive and uncomfortable, but you won't die of heat stroke....

Panama basically sees two seasons during the year, there's a dry season and the other one's a rainy season. Though there are variations depending on the altitude and the location of the region. The hottest months in Panama are March and April and people usually like to travel to Panama during the months starting from December to April.

Well, I visited both Costa Rica and Panama during March and I found the weather quite pleasant. The humidity is a bit high, and if you are hailing from the temperate regions, you may face some difficulty. But I should say that overall, the weather is quite mild.

Whoever originaly posted this question, I would think lives in Canada or the US?

Firstly do your homework regardless of what an individual says in the forums.

Then take a somewhat educated guess on what information you've found and locate a few destinations.

Next, pin-point those destinations and draw a circle around them of 100 to 500 miles. Because, each area has different climates no matter where you are. There are Macro Climates as well as Micro Climates. It depends on where you want to go.

Then go to specific places of reliable information such as government websites, the weather channel, WikiPedia, community websites, embassy websites, etc.

Some websites will have detailed information broken down into averages, highs and lows throughout the years for decades on each individual area.

The question is like me asking you, what is the climate like in the United States?

Cheers

I would like to have a coastal vacation,
(surfing preferably, scuba if it's kinda flat)
and I'm looking for highs at least at 90 F and lows at leat 70 F.
I'm leaning more towards the Pacific because I hear the waves are more consistant.

Ideally, I would like to see highs 92-95 F and lows near 75.
I do not mind it if it goes into the low-mid 100's F.

At the other end of the spectrum,
if the lows are still close to 75 F (or higher),
I would not mind highs in the mid-high 80's F.

Are there any coastal locations in Panama that fufill my heat cravings???

All coastal areas meet your climate requirements.
For surfing, buy the Moon Guide to Panama (excellent map)
and see http://www.panamasurftours.com/

Originally Posted by exilio

All coastal areas meet your climate requirements.

For surfing, buy the Moon Guide to Panama (excellent map)
and see http://www.panamasurftours.com/

Really?
How about between December to February?

I've been to many parts of the Caribbean in winter;
Jamaica, Puerto Rico, U.S.V.I. etc.
I nearly-never feel hot in the Caribbean, (usually warm-to-very warm)
but I always have a few mornings or evenings when I'm a little cold in the islands.

Are any coastal areas of Panama warmer than Jamaican coastal areas in Dec-Feb?

If it's at least the same, I don't think I'd mind...
However I'd prefer my vacation to feel like a July heat wave in the U.S. Northeast,
rather than moderate-summer weather with the accompanying coolish-evenings.

*BTW, thanks for the surfing link.

I don't know Jamaica, so I can't compare. But Jamaica's latitude is 18° N; we are 10° closer to the equator (Panama is 8-9°N).

All coastal areas of Panama will be 90°F in the day, 80°F at night. And with the humidity it will feel 5°-10°F hotter. The hottest months are March-April; Jan-Feb would be second. Pacific side will be hotter than Caribbean, due to less rain.

Originally Posted by exilio

I don't know Jamaica, so I can't compare. But Jamaica's latitude is 18° N; we are 10° closer to the equator (Panama is 8-9°N).

All coastal areas of Panama will be 90°F in the day, 80°F at night. And with the humidity it will feel 5°-10°F hotter. The hottest months are March-April; Jan-Feb would be second. Pacific side will be hotter than Caribbean, due to less rain.

Very nice.

Actually, I was doing a bit of research myself and found Kingston, Jamaica in January is 30 C (86 F) day and 19 C (67 F) at sunrise, with 85% morning humidity and 65% afternoon humidity. Balboa Heights in Panama (apparently on the Pacific coast) averages 31 C (88 F) day and 22 C (71 F) at sunrise in January, with 88% humidity in the morning, however the humidity is still 84% by afternoon.

Both places average 9-10 hours of sun in January and February, though Jamaica is sunnier year-round. (doesn't really matter if I'm just visiting anyways) Also the BBC country guides labelled Balboa Heights humidity discomfort level "Extreme," so I guess it seems silly to many members that I might be disappointed with it not being warm enough.

*Don't they use degrees Celcius/Centigrade in Panama instead of Fahrenheit?
I know both, but few places in the world report weather in Fahrenheit;
I'm a little confused and surprised to see temperatures reported that way.

Panama, like all of Latin America, uses Celsius.

Many web reports use Fahrenheit, because that's what the very large US audience understands (even though the US signed the "Treaty of the Meter" in 1875, along with all the major industrialized nations).

Panama is not entirely metric, however. Gasoline, e.g., is sold in US gallons.

Originally Posted by exilio

Panama, like all of Latin America, uses Celsius.

Many web reports use Fahrenheit, because that's what the very large US audience understands (even though the US signed the "Treaty of the Meter" in 1875, along with all the major industrialized nations).

Panama is not entirely metric, however. Gasoline, e.g., is sold in US gallons.

Funny.

I'm from the Toronto area (WAAYYY too far north ) and metric is used for all official measurements, however when you buy wood, you buy 4'x8' sheets of plywood at so many millimetres thick.

Also, you ask people their height and weight they say pounds, feet and inches.
But our driver's licences will say kilograms and centimetres.

I have memorized most of the conversions between Celcius and Fahrenheit for common temperatures from using my scientific calculator for over a decade.

Is gasoline cheap in Panama?
It was cheap in Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I.
($1.50/gallon approx., though it's sold in Litres there)

*1 U.S. gallon = 3.78 (roughly) litres

Currently around $1.80/gallon.

sounds very good to me! i'll be visiting in september. don't know yet if costa rica or panama will be my next home. as for the rain, when i was playing army in the 60's, and in vietnam, the monsoon season was rain 24hrs a day, 7 days a week for a month or so. looking forward to seeing panama in person, thanks, paul.

Originally Posted by GordonS

This isn't the weather channel. This is a link to National and Local Weather Forecast, Radar, Map and Report which gives an animated map of the weather over Panama and to the east. Other maps are available at the bottom showing the entire Atlantic etc. Quite interesting if you are interested in weather and seeing hurricanes develop. My daughter taught in Dominican Republic and we found it useful to tell her when potential hurricanes were forming off the coast of Africa. Not that this is too useful for Panama since hurricanes virtually never strike there but another great hurricane map source is by the US gov't National Hurricane Center

Thank you!

Since the weather can be pretty humid at certain months, what do most people who live there do to cool themselves off?

As for the rainy season, does it get really cold where you have to wear layers of clothes?

Not much you can do about humidity except to carry a small towel as many people do and wipe your face from time to time.

For heat, many people wear hats or carry umbrellas for shade.

Unless of course, you never leave your airconditioned home.

I was surprised to find that the climate variations in Panama was much milder than that back home in Australia. In Aus, where I live temperature can go as high as 45 deg Celsius. Here in Panama I have never heard of anything over 35. But here the humidity is too high.

Hey thanks for sharing such a useful information on the climate of panama guys.. i was planning a holiday to panama with my family. This was really helpful. Thanks

Originally Posted by greensneakers

As for the rainy season, does it get really cold where you have to wear layers of clothes?

I know I'm a johnny-come-lately to this question, but it's irresistable. I don't know that "layers" of clothing is ever necessary in Panama at any time or place, including Boquete with the coolest climate... Well, maybe you'd want to wear a jacket at the summit of "Volcán Barú" at midnight...