Rainfall for December and for 2023: We’re putting West End’s 18.09 inches in the record book for December. That number was pretty typical across the Big Island and for Utila as well. That is well above our December average of 12.3 inches. Incredibly, we are above average for the year. That’s incredible because from January through September we had gotten about half our normal rainfall. But October through December made up for lost ground.
As we look forward to January, we see the beginning of the end of the rainy season. January averages 11 inches and the end of the month is typically drier than the beginning. But based on the current forecast the beginning of January looks fairly dry, so odds are good for a below average January rainfall.
Good morning Bay Islands. Our first photo of the day for 2024 is our last photo from Saturday’s storm. Thanks to Kelly Kosmin for sharing this monster waves from West End. Things are calmer now, though still choppy. We are in for some much drier weather in the week ahead.
Low temperatures were not as cool as yesterday morning. Most of us saw a low of 71 (21.7C). We will keep a northeast breeze 12-17 mph today and tomorrow giving us seas at 4-5 feet. Seas will be from the northeast and because our island runs southwest to northeast, that will keep us kind of choppy on both sides. Winds turn to the east on Wednesday, get calm on Thursday and get windy on Friday from the east.
We picked up some light rainfall early this morning.
We have some clouds around that will give us a chance of rain this morning. This is actually the best chance of rain until Friday. Starting this afternoon and running through tomorrow and Wednesday rain chances are very low. Thursday we’ll have some scattered showers and Friday and Saturday look dry.
Here is what January looks like on our new Roatan Weather calendar. Average high is 82 (27.7C) and average low is 73 (23C) and average rainfall is 11 inches. Several of you have already reserved your copy and I’ll be in touch about delivery. They should be printed tomorrow. If you want to reserve yours, please message me or if you’re in the States or Canada go to http://tinyurl.com/roatanweather
High tides continue to be quite low. Low tides are 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.
In my video forecast I talk about why we’re going to get some strong east winds end of this week into next week and why we can look for drier weather. Also see a really big wave at West End from Saturday’s storm. Have a great week and a great 2024!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our video of the day comes from Megan Mitchell and shows the waves pounding Sandy Bay Beach. My peak wind gust on Jonesville Point was 46 mph and Ron Ohm picked up 48 mph. Waves reached 8 1/2 feet but I’m sure they were probably 9-10 feet at some point (around 3 meters). Some voiced concern about beach erosion.
These temperatures are close to our lows for the morning. Almost everyone got to 68 or 69 degrees, just two degrees from our all-time recorded low of 66 in 2020. We will continue to be cool for the next couple of days.
Rainfall is getting lighter this morning after a day of steady rain yesterday. Rainfall totals generally get higher as you go further southwest, as is typical with a norther, where rain is heaviest closer to the mainland.
On satellite you can see that the front has moved to our south. On the back side of the front we will have partly to mostly cloudy skies today with an occasional light shower. Winds will turn from north to northeast at 10-15 mph. Seas are starting out at 5 feet this morning, but should calm to 3-4 feet by evening.
For the first day of 2024, we will have partly cloudy skies, a 40 percent chance of a shower, mostly in the morning, and northwest winds 12-17 mph and seas 3-4 feet.
Tuesday winds start moving from northeast to easterly at 15-20 mph and seas around 4 feet. Rain chances Tuesday through the end of the week will be low. Wednesday and Thursday look calmer for wind and sea. A cold front will stay north of us, pushing strong east winds our way for Friday and Saturday.
Don’t forget to check out today’s lobster special at Ikigai. You can’t beat it!
All our tides have been fairly low, with high tide only 4 or 5 inches above low tide. Have a great last day of 2023 and stay safe on the roads tonight!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day is a reminder of our last norther, taken at the tip of West Bay by Julie Elpus. This morning we getting 20 mph winds and seas at 5 feet on the north side. Conditions are expected to be worse this afternoon before the get a little better tomorrow.
Here are our rainfall totals, with this morning’s rain in purple and rainfall including yesterday in yellow. The west side has already gotten around 5 inches.
Lots of clouds out there at 9 a.m. This will be quite a cloudy day with steady, sometimes heavy, rain. Another 2 inches is expected.
Winds and seas will be the main concern today. This morning winds will be from the north/northeast at 20 mph and seas 5 feet, but as we get into the afternoon winds will pick up 20-30 mph and seas 7-8 feet. Winds will be from the northeast tomorrow 12-17 mph and seas will be 6 feet in the morning and 5 feet in the afternoon, coming from the northeast. Tomorrow there will be periods of light, chilly rain. Rain chances are much lower Monday and Tuesday, but we still keep a brisk northeast breeze 12-17 mph and seas 4-5 feet. Seas should be down to 3 feet Wednesday and 2 feet Tuesday.
Speaking of chilly, look at these morning lows in Belize. Hopkins on the coast even got down to 68 degrees (20C). We probably won’t get that cool, but look for very cool temperatures tonight and tomorrow night. Folks going out for New Year’s Eve may want to take a jacket.
Low tides are around 5:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Be careful out there, especially this afternoon!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our picture of the day comes from James Oden and shows a waterspout from Nov. 1 off Sandy Bay. Waterspouts are an interesting phenomena. While tornados are almost unheard of in our region of the tropics, waterspouts are fairly common. They form and disappear quickly and create winds generally less than 65 mph, much less than a land tornado. While I’m not forecasting waterspouts, we are in for a windy, rainy couple of days.
Around 3-4 a.m. we got a heavy rain, especially on the west side of the big island.
We’re actually kind of fortunate, because most of the rain has fallen to our north this morning. Today will be a day of off and on showers. Heaviest rain should come tonight and tomorrow morning.
Here is the wind map going from 1 p.m. today through Monday morning. Today we will have north winds 10-15 mph, with wind gusts in squalls. Tomorrow morning winds should be around 15-20 mph but the real gusty winds come in the afternoon when wind gusts 30-35 mph will be coming from the north/northeast. Winds Sunday are back to 17-22 mph a little more from the northeast and Monday 12-17 from the northeast. By Tuesday winds start turning to the east.
Here is the Euro wave map from midday today into Monday afternoon. Waves right now are around 3 feet coming from the north/northeast. They build to 4-5 feet by nightfall, 6 feet tomorrow morning and 8-9 feet tomorrow afternoon on the north side. Sunday they calm to 5-6 feet and Monday 4 feet, coming more from the east/northeast.
Rainfall will be off and on today with cloudy skies. Tomorrow rain will be heavy and long-lasting for much of the day with 2-5 inches expected. Sunday and Monday rain will be light, but chilly when it falls with more peeks of sunshine.
Low tides are 4:50 p.m. and 4:40 a.m. Be careful out there and mostly stay off the seas tomorrow and perhaps Sunday. I often tell people I’m not a boating expert, but 7-8 foot seas don’t sound like fun.
Good morning Bay Islands. This morning’s photo of the day comes from Matt Harper and shows the bright lights of Bodden Bight in St. Helene at sunrise. These high cirrus clouds are in advance of a norther (cold front, frente frio) that should bring a little rain the evening, more rain tomorrow and a lot of rain and heavy seas Saturday.
On satellite you can clearly see the cold front stretching from Yucatan to Florida.
Here is this morning’s radar. Heavy rain from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. All of this is moving south.
This morning seas are fairly calm at 1-2 feet and waves are coming from the east. Around midday winds will start coming from the north at 10-15 mph and seas will also start coming from the north, though only around 2 feet. Clouds and rain chances will increase as the day goes along, and tonight we will have a good chance of rain. Rain will be off and on Friday with seas increasing to 4 feet from the north by nightfall. Saturday is the worst day, with seas from the north 7-9 feet and periods of heavy rain. Watch out for flash floods as many of the computers want to give us around 4 inches or more on Saturday. Rain should lessen on Monday though we may still have a chilly rain around, especially in the morning. Monday and Tuesday should be cool and I’ll be watching the thermometers to see if we get some 69 degree readings (20.5C) out there.
Here is the Euro prediction for Saturday. The purples just to our south are for 4-5 inches of rain. Notice that the rain is heavier closer to the coast. This is a classic norther setup, so better chances of heavier rain for west Roatan and Guanaja, better chances of seeing less rain east Roatan and Guanaja.
Here is the GFS prediction for rain on Saturday. You will notice they are very similar, meaning we have high confidence we are getting a lot of rain Saturday.
Weather looks good for much of next week, as we get back to mostly sunny skies and seas turn back to the east at 3-4 feet. If you are planning a cruise next week, don’t forget to check out excursions from the Jolly Roger Roatan. They will make sure you have a great day on the sea and get you back to your ship safely and on time.
Low tides are 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. Have a great Thursday!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Pam Peters in Calabash. We get one more perfect day of weather before the winds start to turn to the north and rain chances increase.
On the satellite we can see the approaching cold front. Our winds will start to turn to the north tomorrow around midday and seas will increase from 1-2 feet to 2-3 feet. Rain chances increase, especially tomorrow evening into tomorrow night with about half an inch likely. Rain chances are good on Friday with seas 3-4 feet. Saturday will be the windiest and rainiest day with very heavy seas especially on the north side, perhaps 6-8 feet midday. Things should calm down Sunday with lingering rain showers, especially in the morning. Sunday evening into the first day of the New Year could be chilly.
Want fresh meat for the New Year? You can do no better than Rosita’s Meat Market. Thanks to Trish Symons for helping us out with a price list in English.
Good morning Bay Islands. In honor of our full moon tonight, we are choosing Judy Brownfield’s moon photo over Lawson Rock as our photo of the day. We’ll get a good view of our full moon with very few clouds around tonight.
Very few clouds this morning. We will have mostly sunny skies and only the slightest chance of an isolate sprinkle today and tomorrow. Winds will be light and variable and seas are starting at 1-2 feet around the islands and will calm to mostly 1 foot today and tomorrow.
We’re starting to get the heat back again, with highs in the mid 80s (around 30C) and lows around 78 (25C). We have a cure for high temperatures coming in the form of a norther. We’ll have increasing clouds and about a 50 percent chance of rain Thursday, about 70 percent Friday and near 100 percent Friday night into Saturday morning. Most of the computers say Saturday will be our rainiest and windiest day. Saturday we may see seas 6 feet on the north side, with north winds gusting to 25 mph. Sunday rains should be a little less, but we will have a cool New Year’s Eve with highs in the upper 70s (25C) and lows around 71 (21.6C). Most models give us 2-3 inches of rain Thursday through Saturday. After that there is some disagreement on how long the rain sticks around into the new year. We’ll keep an eye on it.
If you’re looking for a great last meal of 2023, don’t forget Ikigai by Robby Molina’s Sunday lobster special, only $18. You can’t beat that for the quality of food.
Tonight’s full moon will give us a very low tide at 3 a.m. Have a great Tuesday!
Good morning Bay Islands. This morning’s photo of the day comes from Dirk Yelinek taken last night at West Bay Beach. Lots of boats and folks on the beach for Christmas Eve and Christmas. They will get picture perfect Bay Islands weather with sunny skies and mild winds and seas.
The satellite shows very few clouds around. Basically no chance of rain today. We start with seas 2-3 feet, but they should calm to 1-2 feet by evening and then 1 foot for Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday and Wednesday we will put a 20 percent chance of a morning shower back in the forecast.
Thursday we will have increasing clouds and winds will turn to the north as our next norther approaches. Most of the models have the worst day being Friday, with north winds 20 mph and seas 5-6 feet. The GFS thinks the worst day will be Saturday. We’ll keep an eye on it. This norther will bring another dose of fresh air, meaning that folks on New Year’s Eve might need a jacket.
Low tides will be around 2:15 p.m. and 2:15 a.m. Have a great week!
Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from the lovely and talented Susan Andrews, and I am not biased at all. The photo is of sunset at West Bay Beach. Today’s sunset probably won’t have quite as many clouds as this one.
Rainfall since midnight has been very light and most of it came between midnight and 3 a.m. Many of us got a good rain before midnight for about half an inch. That should be the last rain for a little while.
This morning’s satellite shows a few “popcorn” clouds. I guess it isn’t impossible for someone to catch a shower before 10 a.m., but after that we should be mostly sunny and dry. Dry conditions will continue through tomorrow. Tuesday and Wednesday we get a small (30 percent) chance of rain, especially in the morning. Thursday and Friday we will be dealing with our next norther and more rain and wind.
We start the day with 3 foot seas in Roatan and 1-2 foot seas in Utila. Those seas will remain much the same today, with fairly long wave periods 5-7 seconds. Seas will get a bit calmer tomorrow, maybe 2 feet in Roatan, and then finally 1 foot by Tuesday. Fairly calm winds and seas should last until our norther comes Thursday and give us north winds 15-20 mph and seas 4-5 feet.
Just another reminder that our Roatan Weather Calendar should be printed by the first of the year. Those on the west side of the island will be able to pick yours up at the CC Print shop in Coxen Hole. It will have scenes from our photo of the day contest and average high and low temps throughout the year. Contact me to reserve yours.
Low tide is 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Have a great Sunday!
Welcome to Roatan Weather 