Good morning Bay Islands. David and Heather Granada send us this picture from the hill overlooking Politilly Bight at sunset. I love that this weather picture includes one of our communities. Don’t forget that the five photos with the most likes get into the poll on Feb. 29 to compete for a $50 La Sirena de Camp Bay, Restaurant & Bar gift certificate. Don’t forget to get your Roatan Weather calendar when you stop by La Sirena as well (or Hangover Hut or CC Printing). When you send me your photo at bookmybio@gmail.com, tell me the name of the photographer and the location of the photo.

Rain forecast: We have clear skies over our islands this morning and that will last through today and tomorrow with dry conditions. We can see the cold front cutting through the southeast US headed our way, but it will weaken greatly. We will have a good chance of rain Tuesday and then scattered showers Wednesday and Thursday. But total precipitation should only be a half inch to an inch, maybe two inches toward Utila, so it won’t be raining all the time, just passing showers. Things dry up for the end of next week into the weekend.

Wind forecast: We have brisk east/southeast winds today bringing 4-5 foot seas on the south side. Winds will get calmer tomorrow from the east 7-12 mph though seas will still be 3-4 feet on the south side. Tuesday winds come from the north, but only around 10-15 mph, giving us 2-3 foot seas on the northside and maybe 3-4 foot seas for Thursday morning.

Long-range forecast: We are still looking at a stronger norther coming for next Sunday night into Monday Feb. 19. But there is disagreement about how strong. The GFS is giving us quite a strong norther with high winds and rains, but most of the rest of the models have this weaker. As we get toward the end of rainy season, I tend to agree with the weaker models, but we’ll keep an eye on it.

From Melissa Dixon, manager at Ikigai: “Rediscover romance at Ikigai this Valentine’s Day! Indulge in an exquisite dining experience with our specially curated menu for lovers, meticulously prepared by the renowned Chef Robby Molina. As one of the top 100 chefs in the world, Chef Molina’s culinary expertise promises to elevate your Valentine’s Day celebration to new heights.

Nestled in the historic Romeo’s building in French Harbor, Ikigai offers a picturesque setting with a commanding view of the harbor, setting the stage for a truly romantic evening. As the sun sets at 5:45pm, immerse yourselves in the beauty of the moment and savor the culinary creations of Chef Molina.

This Valentine’s Day, create unforgettable memories with your loved one at Ikigai. Book your table now and let Chef Molina’s extraordinary talents and the stunning backdrop of the harbor make your evening truly magical.”

Low tides are 4:10 p.m. and 4:20 a.m. Have a great Sunday!

Good morning Bay Islands! Our photo of the day is actually our photo of the night. Jeff Bodin sends us this gorgeous photo from Carib Bight looking west. You can see the lights of French Harbor lighting up the sky at the bottom. We should be mostly clear through the weekend with a new moon, so the stars should be brilliant tonight.

Rain forecast: This morning we have some high clouds over Guanaja and the east end. These clouds are moving to the northwest, but it highly unlikely they have any rain in them. We will be dry through the weekend and into Monday. Monday evening we get a very weak norther that will bring a chance of rain Tuesday through Thursday, but totals look light. The GFS is forecasting an inch for the big island and 2 inches for Utila and other models forecast even less.

Wind forecast: We are dealing with brisk east/southeasterly winds at 20 mph this morning giving us 4 foot seas on the south side and 2 foot on the north side. Winds will get a little calmer at midday for 3 foot seas southside, but tonight they will get back to 20-25 mph and 4 foot seas (even stronger in Guanaja). Tomorrow looks a little windier than today. Monday things calm down as our cold front approaches, turning our winds to the north, but this norther is quite weak on winds.

This Euro wave forecast shows what waves will look like when the norther is at its peak Tuesday morning, with seas only 3 feet on the northside, so not much to worry about.

If you’re planning your trip to the island next week, you picked a pretty good week to come, with very mild weather on tap. Make sure you contact Jolly Roger Roatan to plan the best excursion on the island (and in the water.)

Extended forecast: We have a norther that looks a bit stronger coming in a week from Sunday night into Monday Feb. 19. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Low tides are 3:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. Have a great weekend!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Rachel Gillis and looks out over the far west point of West Bay. Our day looks mostly sunny with trade winds picking up from the east. Winds today will be from the east 17-22 mph and seas 4 feet on the south side. Tomorrow will be the same, but maybe a little windier in the evening with seas getting up to 5 feet on the south side. Sunday looks windy and dry as well. Winds calm on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday a very weak norther comes and gives us a chance of some rain and light north winds.

These Thai Chicken Satay skewers are a great way to kick off a meal at Ikigai by Robby Molina. Friday into the weekend is also a great time to get together with friends at the old Romeo’s building in French Harbor. And with nice weather this weekend the outdoor seating is marvelous. Come on down!

We’re getting into the new moon phase and some stronger tides. Low tides are 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 a.m. Have a great Friday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Patric Lengacher and was taken in French Cay. I love looking above and below the surface of the water. We are dealing with clouds and a few showers this morning, but starting this afternoon through the weekend we should be mostly dry.

This morning we have clouds and a few showers around. About half of our weather stations on the big island have picked up .01 or .02 of an inch of rain this morning. These clouds are slowly moving from east to west, so we will keep a chance of rain in the morning. We should be mostly sunny with only a very slight chance of rain this afternoon. Tommorrow morning we will have about a 20 percent chance of a morning shower, but Friday afternoon through the weekend looks dry.

This morning we have winds from the east at 7-15 mph, but our seas are still slightly from the northeast at 3-4 feet giving us some waves on the north side as well. Today we will have east winds 15-20 mph and seas 3 feet and tonight east winds 20-25 and seas at 4 feet. Tomorrow through the weekend winds and seas should both be from the east 20-25 mph during the day and 20-30 mph in the late evening. So it will be a choppy weekend on the south side, less so on the north side. We had a cool morning this morning, but as we get the east wind back with fewer clouds, we will have lows around 75 (24C) and highs around 84 (29C).

We are still watching a norther Monday night into Tuesday and maybe Wednesday, but it is looking pretty weak right now. We’ll keep an eye on it.

The picture of the day featuring the reef always gets me in a mood for conservation and there is no more island-friendly choice for your dog that the food at Roatan Pets. Mitch Cummins sources his ingredients locally and gives a percentage of proceeds to ROAR, which provides assistance to the many needy pets on the island. Contact Mitch at +504-8746-5195

Our high tides at 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. are starting to get a little higher. Have a great Thursday!

Don’t forget, if you want to hang some of these awesome shots on your wall and also have the rainfall averages and extremes for every month of the year, you can still get the Roatan Weather calendar at the lower price of 250 lempiras at Hangover Hut in West Bay, Las Sirenas in Camp Bay and, if you contact me first, also at CC Printing in Coxen Hole.

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Kathy Sidenstricker in West End. These boats had better be tied down in their docks today or they’ll be in trouble. Things should get a little better this afternoon.

We start out the morning with seas 7-8 feet and winds around 30 mph from the west/northwest. The winds caused us to have about a two-hour power outage here on the east side. The buoy near Michael Rock in Guanaja is picking up 3 meter (9.8 foot) seas. Things should slightly calm this afternoon to 20-25 mph west winds and seas 6-7 feet. Tomorrow winds will be much calmer, from the northwest at 5-10 mph but seas will still be 4 feet. We also have about a 40 percent chance of rain tomorrow morning. Wednesday winds start turning back to the east and we will have brisk east winds into the weekend, but very little rain. We have another chance at a norther first of next week. This one looks a little less windy but more rainy.

Low tides are noon and midnight. Have a great day and stay safe out there.

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Kelly Kosmin and shows a keyhole view of West Bay. At 7 a.m. things are pretty calm, but they will get windier.

The close up satellite shows a few clouds around, These are moving to the southeast and may have a few showers in them, but overall rainfall amounts should be low this morning and we should be mostly sunny, especially this afternoon.

In the wide view, we can see the low pressure system just east of The Bahamas and the cold front behind coming toward us. At 7 a.m. our winds and seas aren’t too bad. In fact the seas are around 1 foot. By 9 a.m. that should change, with north winds 17-22 mph and seas around 4 feet. Tonight and tomorrow morning will be the worst winds, with winds 25-35 mph from the northwest and seas 8-9 feet especially on the north side. They will be a little better tomorrow afternoon with seas to 6 feet. By Wednesday, winds will be fairly calm but seas will still be around 4 feet. Rain chances are 50/50 today, 20 percent tomorrow and 40 percent for Wednesday morning.

Wanted to mention also that we will have cooler temps today through Wednesday, but not as cool as the last norther because we will have more sun. Highs should be around 80.

Low tides are 1 p.m. and 1 a.m. Have a great week!

Rainfall for January 2024. We put 7.26 inches in the record books for the month but January was wetter the further east you went. Utila had 4.7 inches, the west side 3-5 inches, the east side 7-8 inches and Guanaja (though we are missing the first four days of the month) over 11 inches. Our average for January is 10,88 inches, so overall it was drier than normal.

Looking to February we start transitioning to the dry season. Our average rainfall is 5.34 inches for the month. February is the last month for northers and there will be fewer and weaker northers in general. March and April are peak dry months so look forward to more sunny days!

Good morning Bay Islands. Today is 2-4-24 if you put the date in North American order. Our photo of the day comes from Sarah Anderson in West Bay. It shows a shaft of light coming down as if from heaven. Today will be nice. All eyes are on the norther coming tomorrow.

Today we will have west winds 10-15 mph and seas 1-2 feet. Winds will start to increase from the northwest overnight and tomorrow should be from the northwest 20-25 mph and seas 4-5 feet, especially on the north side. This is an unusually dry cold front. There is a 50-50 chance of rain Monday morning, but rain chances are around 40 percent Monday afternoon and quite low on Tuesday. Tuesday is the day it will be dangerous to be on the sea, especially during the morning, with west/northwest winds 25-30 mph and seas 7-9 feet. Wednesday rain chances go up to 40 percent. Winds on Wednesday will be from variable directions 5-10 mph and seas 3-4 feet. The end of the week into the weekend looks dry with the possible exception of Thursday morning.

Tuesday and Wednesday will also be quite cool. Tuesday with the sun out we should get to 80 degrees (27C). Wednesday morning if we get some clouds and showers we might be in the low to mid 70s (23-24 C). Low temperatures should be around 71 each day (22C).

Tides will be quite low around 11 p.m. Have a great Sunday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Sheranie Dilbert in Jonesville. I can always tell when I’m looking toward Oakridge when I see those two phone towers on the hill. Don’t forget the five photos with the most likes will compete Feb. 29 for a $50 gift certificate from La Sirena in Camp Bay. We’re still watching a norther coming Monday into Tuesday.

Most of us are waking up to clear skies and that should last through the weekend. Our seas this morning are 3 feet on the southside and 2 feet on the northside with east winds 10-15 mph. This afternoon into Sunday that should calm even more to 1-2 foot seas. Monday we will see winds turn to the north around 20 mph and seas 4-5 feet. Rain is expected Monday morning, but this is still looking drier than your average norther, with sun Monday afternoon and Tuesday. Tuesday should be the worst day for north winds 25-35 mph and seas around 8 feet. Things get much calmer Wednesday with a chance of rain returning.

I get texts asking about the English translation of the wonderful meats available at Carniceria Rosita. I thought I should republish the list, but just keep in mind that the prices are subject to change.

Tides continue to run below normal. Have a great weekend!