Rainfall for February 2024: We’re putting 1.46 inches in the record book for February. That is well below our average of 5.21 inches and indicates that we entered dry season early this year. Our rain totals were remarkably similar across the islands, with 1.4 recorded both on Utila and Guanaja. As we look to March, our average rainfall is 5.21 inches, but the forecast for the next two weeks doesn’t look promising for much rain. They always say dry season allows the mangos to grow out nice and sweet. If so, this should be a good year.
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Sandra Mulinari in Palmetto Bay and shows Finn loyally waiting on deck for his master to comes back from a dive. Finn definitely hopes to get lots of likes for this photo and a chance at $50 in food from Roatan Pets as winner of the March Photo of the Month contest. If you want Finn to win, give his photo a like at Roatan Weather.
Our satellite this morning shows a few popcorn clouds here and there. The area on the mainland between Puerto Cortez and San Pedro Sula actually picked up a little rain overnight as our easterly winds hit the mountains west of SPS causing some upflow. It shows that our current atmosphere has enough moisture for some rain here or there, but it is still very unlikely, with only about a 5 percent chance of seeing a shower on any night over the next week.
Actually, around 6 a.m. it looks like Sandy Bay got a small shower. Thanks to Trish Symons for the heads up
Our winds are not quite as strong as they were a couple of days ago. We wake up to 20 mph east winds and 3 foot seas southside, 2 foot seas northside. During the day we will calm a little to 15 mph east winds and 2-3 foot seas southside. Overnight we will get back up 25 mph winds and 4-5 foot seas, but by tomorrow morning things will calm back down again. This is the cycle of trade winds in March.
If you have the Roatan Weather 2024 calendar you know the average low for March is 75 (24.1C) the average high 84 (29.1C) and average rainfall is 3.53 inches. We are selling the rest of our stock at the printing cost of $8 (200 lemps). If you want one message me.
By the way I’m hoping the forecasts for good seas by morning on the northside are correct because I will be spending the day in Santa Helena. If you would like to hail me send me a message and I will pass by.
High tides are virtually nonexistent. Have a great Friday!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day for the last day of February is the first contestant in the March Photo of the Month contest. Matt Harper took this photo from Rocky Point in Saint Helene looking toward Guanaja. He said normally Guanaja is just a gray outline, but during our dry weather last week he could see the hills and shadows very well. Sadly we will continue to get more haze as we return to normal humid conditions here.
Before I begin the forecast, I want to mention that it seems the kelp monster is back on my beach. Anyone else noticing this?
We had another blustery night of trade winds. I wanted to show you a chart of my wind monitor yesterday. This chart is typical of easterly trade winds. The worst of the winds comes between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.. They calm a bit toward daybreak and are calmest late morning and midday before getting windier again toward late afternoon. This is the pattern we will see through the weekend into next week and also the pattern that will dominate the next two to three months.
We start out with east winds at 20 mph and seas around 4 feet on the southside and 3 feet on the north side. Winds should calm to 15-20 mph from the east by midday before getting up to 20-25 mph this evening. The next few days will not be QUITE as windy as the last couple were. We’ve been getting winds 33-38 mph at night and the next few night should only be 22-28 mph.
The next week looks quite dry. One of the these mornings someone is going to get a light shower out of one of these popcorn clouds, but don’t bet on it.
Good morning Bay Islands. Today’s photo of the day comes from Ontario resident Sylvia Lockard showing two very good boys frolicking in the waters of Half Moon Bay in West End. Sylvia’s photo is the last to compete for a $50 gift certificate to La Sirena de Camp Bay, Restaurant & Bar. The top five most-liked will compete in a poll tomorrow over at Roatan Weather on Facebook.
Here is the report as of 6:30 a.m. from the weather station in Keyhole Bay in West Bay. It shows a top wind gust overnight of 38.5 mph.
This wind chart shows that we are expecting similar winds through the week and the weekend. We start this morning with 20 mph east winds and seas 4 feet on the southside. Winds should calm a bit to 15-20 mph and seas to 3 feet on the south side but we are in for another quite windy night with gusts to 35 mph and seas 5-6 feet on the south side. There is some indication late next week we may get a little calmer, but these trade winds are a trademark of March/April in the islands.
When it comes to rain, we look quite dry for the next week. There is a slight chance of a shower Thursday night into Friday morning, but that is about it when it comes to rain. We will have very few clouds, in fact.
Tomorrow the photo of the day will be competing for the March prize of $50 in food from Roatan Pets. If the winner doesn’t own a dog, he or she can continue the great work that Mitch Cummins is doing by donating it, along with the 10 percent of proceeds Mitch already donates, to Roatan Operation Animal Rescue. I think we can all agree the animals of Roatan need all the help they can get and ROAR does great work.
The full moon is on the wane and high and low tides are mild. Have a great Wednesday!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Randy Newman in West Bay. Remember the five most liked photos compete on Thursday for a $50 La Sirena de Camp Bay, Restaurant & Bar gift certificate. It is appropriate that this photo shows a cloudless sunset because we will have very few clouds and no rain this week.
Is it impossible that sometime this week someone will get a morning shower? No, it is not impossible, but it is highly unlikely. We will be mostly sunny all week. This is shaping up to be a typical dry season week with strong easterly trade winds and seas around 4 feet on the south side. We start the day with easterly winds 10-15 mph and seas 2-3 feet. Those will get up to 15-20 mph and 3-4 feet on the southside by evening. Wednesday will be even windier, with 20 mph east winds during the day and 25-30 mph winds at night. Our temperatures will be back to seasonable with around 74 for lows and 84 for highs. (23-29C)
Let’s talk about one of my wife’s favorite topics: dessert. Always ask your server if there might be some off-menu offerings. The last time I was at Ikigai by Robby Molina they happened to have a wonderful mango cheesecake that was the perfect complement to a great meal. There’s always something to satisfy your sweet tooth at Ikigai, in the old Romeo’s building in French Harbor.
We’re at the end of the full moon period and our low and high tides are becoming a little less extreme. Have a great Tuesday!
Good morning Bay Islands. This morning’s photo comes from Dalton McCoole (no, I didn’t make that name up) and he gave us a great overview looking down over Oakridge Cay, Lucy Point and Jonesville. I love photos that feature our communities. Remember that the five most liked photos compete on Feb. 29 for $50 in food at La Sirena de Camp Bay, Restaurant & Bar. Some of us got a little rain this morning.
A few of us, especially on the east side and on Guanaja, got a few hundredths of an inch of rain this morning.
On satellite we can see some clouds moving from east to west. We will continue to have chances of light rain today under partly to mostly cloudy skies and some peaks of sunshine. Tonight into tomorrow morning we will also have a small chance of light rain. After that, we get dry an sunny for awhile.
Wind and wave forecast: We start out the day with east winds around 5 mph and seas from the northeast around 2-3 feet on the northside and 1 foot on the southside. This afternoon east winds will increase to 10-15 mph and seas to 2 feet on the south side. Tomorrow morning winds will be from the east 15-20 mph and by evening 20-25 mph and seas increase to 3-4 feet. The rest of the week we will have strong trade winds 20-25 mph and sometimes 30 mph at night, and seas 4-5 feet on the southside. Our temperatures will return to seasonal averages — mid 70s for lows and mid 80s for highs (24 to 30C).
Tuesday through Thursday are always the biggest days for cruise ships and if you are planning your cruise, don’t forget to look up Jolly Roger Roatan for the best and safest excursions.
Low tides are 3:45 p.m. and 4 a.m. Have a great week!
Good morning Bay Islands. I’m very excited about our photo of the day. It is our first one from Utila. It comes from Lisa Kirkconnell at was taken from the dock of Alton’s Dive Shop. While I’m on the subject of Utila, if you’re an owner of one of the weather stations on Utila, I’d love it if you’d send me a message. We like to stay in touch with our weather watchers. Our magnificent weather weekend continues today.
We had another very cool morning, with lows for many of us in the upper 60s (around 20C). This is the longest stretch of cool weather I can remember in my five years here, and I’m sure i will be a little happier with my RECO bill when I get it around March 15. Our VERY WEAK cold front may keep us in these cool temps through Monday, but as we get into next week, our temperatures should return to normal for this time of year — low 70s for low and low-to-mid 80s for highs.
Rain forecast: Starting this evening and going through the day tomorrow into Tuesday morning we will have a VERY LOW chance of rain, maybe 20 percent. We will have a few more clouds around because of our VERY WEAK cold front. Tuesday afternoon through Thursday our rain chance will be close to zero.
Wind and wave forecast: The sea this morning is flat calm and what wind there is has turned slightly to the northeast. Today we will have a light northeast breeze around 5 mph and seas 0-1 foot. Tomorrow afternoon winds turn to the east and seas climb to 2-3 feet on the southside. Tuesday through Thursday we will have strong east winds 15-20 mph and seas 3-4 feet on the southside, perhaps up to 5 feet Wednesday night.
I managed to bring back an air fryer from the States on my last trip and it earned me a baggage check at customs here in Roatan, but since it was clearly used I didn’t have to pay and it was clearly worth the trouble. And since then almost every evening I have been putting a new cut of beef, pork or chicken from Carniceria Rosita inside. Every time I get a new appreciation for how tender and juicy their meats are. If you have an air fryer, you owe it to yourself to put nothing but the best meats on the island inside, and Rosita’s can hook you up.
Low tides are 3:15 p.m. and 3:25 a.m. Have a great Sunday!
Good morning Bay Islands. Today’s photo comes from KJ Murray and shows the full moon’s reflection on Barefoot Cay near Brick Bay.
We had another cool morning this morning, with many of us getting down to 69 degrees (20.5C). Lots of locals have told me it is entirely too cool.
Our humidity is a little higher than it was a couple of days ago and we will get a little more humid through the weekend as this very week cold front comes near. But as it passes on Monday, it will give us another shot of dry air, so I expect temperatures to be quite comfortable into the first part of next week, with highs around 81 and lows around 71 and humidities lower than average.
Rain forecast: No rain today, but we should see a few more clouds tomorrow. Tomorrow night into Monday morning will be our best chance of seeing a small shower, but it shouldn’t amount to much. Next week looks mostly dry, with a small chance of rain returning late in the week into the weekend.
Wind and wave forecast: We start with light and variable winds and seas 2 feet on the south side and 1 foot on the north side. We will have quite a calm weekend, perfect for boating and fishing. Winds will turn to the north tomorrow but will still be light. Seas on the north side will get up to 2-3 feet Monday. Starting Tuesday we get those easterly trade winds back and seas will be around 4 feet on the south side most of the week.
Low tides are 2:50 p.m. and 2:50 a.m. under the full moon. Have a great weekend and get out there and enjoy the weather!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Bruce Plunkett at — you guessed it — Anthony’s Key. I have seen dolphin pods many times at other locations around the islands, especially running alongside a boat. They’re like the snorkelers of the sea world, coming up to enjoy a bit of our beautiful weather.
After enjoying record-breaking chill and dry weather (I got down to 42 percent humidity yesterday!) things are getting a little back to normal. Our lows this morning were mostly in the low 70s (low 20s C).
This morning we have a brisk east/southeast wind at 20 mph but seas are only 3 feet on the southside, 2 feet on the north. Winds will calm through the day to 10 mph from the east and 2 foot seas southside this afternoon. Starting tonight and lasting through the weekend we will have 1 foot seas around the island.
Winds will turn to the north Saturday afternoon through Sunday but only around 5 mph as a VERY weak cold front moves in.
We should be dry through the weekend with a small chance of a shower Sunday night into Monday morning. Next week winds turn back to the east and we get pretty windy Wednesday and Thursday, but we’ll be mostly dry.
I love the fact that Ikigai by Robby Molina gives you the choice of a Honduran ribeye and USDA prime beef. Sometimes a Honduran steak hits the spot, but sometime you have a craving for a US steak and when you do, Robby, one of the top 100 chefs in the world, knows how to make it juicy, flavorful and cooked to order. Take the short drive to French Harbour. It’s worth it.
We’re moving into the full moon phase with low tides just before 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. Have a great Friday!
Good morning Bay Islands. Today’s photo comes from Adam Powers at one of my favorite beaches on the island in Sandy Bay. Lots of folks are wearing jackets and hoodies today, as we had the coldest morning on record in many places, including Sandy Bay.
We shattered our record low of 66 degrees in several places this morning. The record low for the big island now belongs to Jonesville, which recorded 62.6 degrees (17C). Sandy Bay got close at 63.1 degrees (17.3C). Almost all of us got into the 60s and Guanaja, which only this year got weather stations, recorded a low of 65 (18.3C)
One of the reasons that we are feeling so cool is that our air is incredibly dry for a tropical island. Right now (6:50 a.m.) the airport is showing a dew point of 58 degrees (14.4C). Dew point is a measure of how much humidity is in the air and as you can see in this chart, 58 is well in the comfortable range. In my five years here I never remember the dew point being below 60. During the day when the high was 77 at the airport (25C), our humidity was around 50 percent. That is unbelievably comfortable. Buoys around the islands give our sea temperature as 80 (26.8C).
Rain forecast: We have a few morning clouds around, but any sprinkles are very unlikely. We will be dry today and tomorrow. Saturday we will have partly cloudy skies as a VERY weak norther comes by and Sunday we will have a small chance of showers, especially in the evening.
Wind and wave forecast: This morning we have 3 foot seas from the northeast despite the fact that winds are only around 5 mph from the northeast. This afternoon winds will turn to the east and pick up to 10-15 mph, but seas should calm to 2 feet. Tomorrow winds will be light and variable and seas will be 1-2 feet and around 1 foot through the weekend. With continued mild temperatures this will be an outstanding weekend!
Speaking of outstanding weather, if you are in North America and planning a visit or a cruise stopping in Roatan, check out Jolly Roger Roatan. They are guaranteed to give you the best experience possible with the few hours you will have to spend on the island.
Low tides are 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. Have a great Thursday!
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