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Monthly Weather Summary, April 2021

National Meteorological Service of Belize

April is climatologically the driest month of the year in Belize. The month is characterized by dry, warm and hazy conditions. An occasional late-season cold front may cross country. Whenever such systems cross at this time of the year, they typically produce very intense thunderstorm activity.

The first few days of April 2021 were uncharacteristic as a relatively moist northeasterly airflow prevailed on the 1st and a late-season cold front crossed the country during the morning of the 2nd. A few showers affected most areas but particularly central and southern areas. Conditions remained slightly moist from the 3rd to the 6th as the frontal boundary stalled near the eastern coast of Honduras and Nicaragua. Skies were mostly cloudy during this period due to the dominance of thick cirrus clouds but shower activity was minimal with only brief showers over central and southern areas on the 4th and over northern areas on the 6th.

A slack pressure gradient supported light easterly to southeasterly winds from the 7th to the 8th and moisture gradually decreased giving way to generally fair conditions with only isolated shower activity.

Seasonably warm and mostly dry conditions set in from the 9th to the 17th across the country as heat lows developed over Mexico and extended a trough over the area which is typical for this time of year. Except for isolated thunderstorms over the Maya Mountains and near the western border during the afternoon times, conditions remained relatively dry during this period.

The 18th started off mainly fair, hot and dry then a squall line developed during the late afternoon/early evening over the western part of the country but quickly spread to other areas by sunset. This feature generated strong to severe thunderstorms across the country but especially over some areas in the Cayo and Toledo districts. The activity persisted into the latter part of the night and affected mainly central coastal areas.

Moisture increased slightly from the 19th to the 20th due to a pre-frontal trough positioned just west of the country. A few showers affected most areas but especially central areas during the night of the 19th and southern districts by evening time on the 20th. The frontal boundary remained over the southern Gulf of Mexico where the tail-end eventually dissipated.

The remainder of the month was characterized by fair, warm and dry conditions as the Atlantic High Pressure system dominated and supported moderate to gusty easterly to southeasterly winds from the 21st to the 30th. Only afternoon and evening isolated thunderstorms developed over the mountains and inland areas during this period, with no significant rainfall.

In summary the typical warm and dry weather finally set in around the second week of April 2021, however no severe heat waves occurred. The 2nd-3rd saw the passage of the only cold front for the month while the proximity of a pre-frontal trough on the 18th triggered severe thunderstorm activity and heavy rainfall over some areas in the west and south.

The graphs and maps below summarize the total rainfall and average maximum and minimum temperature recorded during the month of April 2021. They also give an indication of how these readings compare to the normal across the stations sampled. As can be seen, rainfall was above normal for some areas in the Orange Walk and Belize districts as well as coastal areas of the Stann Creek district, but normal to below normal for the remainder of the country. Maximum/daytime temperatures were close to normal over most areas except for Central Farm and Melinda where temperatures were warmer than usual. Nighttime (minimum) temperatures were warmer than normal for all stations except for Punta Gorda where nighttime temperatures were slightly cooler than normal.

Monthly Rainfall Summary



Monthly Maximum Temperatures



Monthly Minimum Temperatures



Rainfall Observed: April 2021 (mm)



Rainfall Observed: April 2021 (% Above/Below Average)