Country Guide

Honduras is one of the large countries of Central America whose weather and climate are described in more detail on the Panama pages.

It is situated between 13° and 16°N, between Nicaragua to the south and Guatemala to the north. It has a western border with El Salvador and a very short coastline on the Pacific.

In size it is similar to Pennsylvania and a little smaller than England. Much of the country is mountainous and the only extensive lowland is in the extreme east.

Reliable climatic data for Honduras is sparse. The table for Tegucigalpa is representative of the hilly country of the tierra templada, where there is a larger daily temperature range and cooler nights than is found in the low-lying tierra caliente.

The Caribbean coast of Honduras mostly faces north and has a much lower annual rainfall than Nicaragua to the south or Belize to the north. It appears that annual rainfall here is no more than on the Pacific shore and, unusually for this region, most rain falls in the winter period of low sun. At this time the northeast trade winds are blowing more directly onshore.