Belize Weather Forecast: December 31, 2021 General Situation: Ambergris Caye: Conditions this morning by Elbert just before or after this post! Belize NMS: Present Condition: Mostly clear skies throughout the country. Mostly clear in San Pedro, a few scattered clouds this morning. Southeasterly airflow continues to support generally fair and mostly dry conditions. Advisories: Operators of small crafts are advised to exercise caution as winds may become gusty and seas locally rough at times. 24-hour forecast: Mostly sunny today and partly cloudy to clear tonight. Showers if any will be isolated. Winds: E-SE, 10-20 kts Sea State: Choppy Waves: 3-5 ft Sea Surface Temperature (°f): 82 Outlook: For Saturday and Saturday night is for generally fair weather to prevail with only isolated showers. Sargassum Forecast from December 29 to January 5: There continues to be a low to medium chance that a few sargassum mats could drift onto beaches across the country during the next few days. San Pedro has a medium probability and a moderate impact. Tropical Weather Outlook: The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season has ended, warnings will resume on May 15, 2022. Click for more of the tropical weather outlook... Marine Conditions: Phoenix Resort in San Pedro | Click here for view at the airport/sunset The Caribbean Sea A 1020 mb high pressure centered north of the area is supporting fresh to strong trade winds across the central Caribbean. Latest altimeter pass indicated seas in the area are 7 to 9 ft. Scatterometer data depicts moderate to fresh E winds across the central Caribbean, while moderate trades prevail elsewhere. Seas in this area range from 4 to 6 ft. Elsewhere, moderate E to SE winds and 3 to 5 ft seas are noted. For the forecast, high pressure E of the Bahamas is forecast to remain nearly-stationary through the upcoming weekend, continue to support moderate to fresh trade winds across the Caribbean, except for locally strong winds in the Gulf of Honduras, central Caribbean and portions of the SW basin. Brief gale force winds will continue off the Colombian coast through this morning. The tail of a cold front will enter the far NW Caribbean Mon morning supporting moderate to locally fresh NE winds and building seas in the Yucatan channel. The front will stall from western Cuba to Belize by Mon night before dissipating.   High Low Coastal 31° C 87° F 26° C 78° F Inland 33° C 92° F 21° C 70° F Hills 27° C 80° F 18° C 64° F TIDES: High: 8:53 AM Low: 1:19 PM High: 7:38 PM Low: 3:06 AM (Sat) Sunrise: 6:23 AM Moonset: 3:27 PM Sunset: 5:29 PM Moonrise: 5:10 AM (Sat) Four Day Weather Outlook: For more information, check the Daily Tropical Weather Outlook. Climate Prediction Center’s Central America Hazards Outlook Belize National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) Ambergris Caye: https://sanpedrowx.com/ https://www.wunderground.com/weather/bz/san-pedro Philip S W Goldson International Airport: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/bz/belize/MZBZ?cm_ven=localwx_today Belmopan: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/bz/belmopan/17.26%2C-88.78 Caye Caulker: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/bz/caye-caulker-village

On Ambergris Caye this morning the wind is howling at 20 mph creating rough sea conditions around our barrier reef. It's sunny and today's expected high temperature is 87 f.

Most of that cloud out in the Caribbean i mentioned yesterday, is drying up, but it is now developing some clouds as it comes ashore along the whole of Belize. There might be the odd small rain shower from it, mainly in the Stann Creek district. There is no indication of any high level clouds.

Looks as if today will be mainly sunny, but with some significant clouds, probably little or no rain though.

Temperatures in Belmopan : ( Coast usually cooler, hills even cooler )
Last Night 22°C 71°F Yesterday max. 30°C 86°F Yesterday Rain 0 mm ( 0") Over Night Rain 0 mm ( 0" )

Clouds developing over parts of Belize now, but I am not expecting rain or much rain from any of them, possible a few spots.



Present Condition: Mostly clear, including in San Pedro. A mostly dry southeasterly airflow prevails over the area. Operators of small crafts are advised to exercise caution for occasional gusty winds and locally rough seas.

24hr Forecast: Mostly sunny during the daytime and clear to partly cloudy tonight. Showers, if any, will be isolated.

Outlook: For Saturday afternoon through to midday on Sunday is for continuing generally fair weather, with isolated showers.





Good morning from a traffic filled rush hour in beautiful Hopkins Village. Photo by Hopkins Uncut



Flood Report and Forecast for today

River Conditions

REGION 7 - On the RIO HONDO levels are above normal and steady. On the NEW RIVER, levels at both Tower Hill and at Caledonia, levels are above normal and steady.

REGION 9 - On the MACAL RIVER, reservoir levels at all BECOL facilities remain below the spillways; and at San Ignacio, levels remain below the low-level bridge and steady.

The MOPAN RIVER at Benque Viejo Town is below normal and decreasing.

On the BELIZE RIVER at Double Run, levels are below normal and steady; and on the CROOKED TREE LAGOON. lagoon levels are below the causeway and steady.

REGION 11 - On the SIBUN RIVER at Freetown Sibun, below normal and steady levels exist. The SOUTHERN LAGOON at Gales Point Village is above normal and decreasing.

In watersheds on the EASTERN SLOPES OF THE MAYAN MOUNTAINS, and on the SITTEE RIVER at Kendal Bridge, levels are above normal and steady.

On the Swasey and Bladen branches of the MONKEY RIVER, levels are near normal and steady. The DEEP RIVER at Medina Bank and on the RIO GRANDE at San Pedro Columbia levels are below normal and decreasing; and. at Big Falls South is near normal and steady.

The MOHO RIVER and the TEMASH RIVER are below normal and decreasing.

REGION 13 - The SARSTOON RIVER is below normal.

FLOOD FORECAST

REGION 7 - On the RIO HONDO at Blue Creek North, and downstream at Santa Cruz, San Antonio, San Roman, and Douglas to the Coast: and on the NEW RIVER at Tower Hill and at Caledonia, no significant change expected.

REGION 9 - On the MACAL RIVER, at all BECOL facilities, reservoir levels are expected to remain below the spillway; and at San Ignacio, levels are expected to remain below the Low-level Bridge.

On the MOPAN RIVER at Benque Viejo Town, no significant change is expected.

On the BELIZE RIVER at Double Run. and on the CROOKED TREE LAGOON, no significant change expected.

REGION 11 - On the SIBUN RIVER at Freetown Sibun, normal levels are expected: and on the SOUTHERN LAGOON near Gales Point Village no significant change expected. In watersheds on the EASTERN SLOPES OF THE MAYAN MOUNTAINS, and on the SITTEE RIVER at Kendal Bridge, no significant change is expected.

On the Swasey and Bladen branches of the MONKEY RIVER. normal levels expected. On the DEEP RIVER at Medina Bank, normal levels expected. On the RIO GRANDE at San Pedro Columbia and Big Falls South, normal levels expected.

On the MOHO RIVER and the TEMASH RIVER, normal levels expected.

REGION 13 - Normal levels expected on the SARSTOON RIVER.

The next Flood Report and Forecast will be issued as necessary.

Some cloud in the north on the mainland getting heavy and could be causing rain now or later.

Friday in San Pedro. Photo by San Pedro Scoop



Welcome 2022! Photo by Tacogirl




Beautiful day in Hopkins. Photos by Hopkins Uncut



Happy New Year from beautiful Hopkins Village.



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Monthly Weather Summary, December 2021

National Meteorological Service of Belize

December begins the transition period from the wet season into the cool period of the dry season. Conditions over the area are typically cooler due to the progression of frontal systems from the southeast United States. It is also one of the months where the passage of cold fronts peak in Belize. On average, a total of eight cold fronts, two stationary fronts, eight upper-level troughs and four surface troughs would influence weather conditions and rainfall in December. Overall, rainfall was below normal over most areas, except for parts of south-eastern Belize.

The first week saw relatively dry conditions over most areas in both the low and upper levels on most days due to ridging over the area, except for the 4th where a surface trough was the main feature. Low levels winds were north to northeast up the 5th then became east to southeast on the 5th and 7th. Little upper-level support persisted this week due to a high-pressure ridge over the area with a neutral to weakly convergent pattern and a south-westerly wind component. As a result, mainly fair weather prevailed with isolated showers, except for December 3, 4 and 7 where a few showers affected mostly central and southern locations due to the low-level trough.

Moisture levels began to increase in week 2 in the low levels, but the upper levels continued relatively dry except for December 14th when a surface trough was over the northwest Caribbean. A moderate east to north-easterly airflow prevailed due to a broad low over the area from the monsoon trough over Central America. Ridging continued to dominate at the upper level and a west to south-westerly flow prevailed with a weakly divergent pattern through to the 10th. The upper-level flow became east to north-easterly for the remainder of the period as an upper level TUTT moved east of the country on the 11th and a neutral to weakly convergent pattern prevailed. Showers were isolated to start the week and gradually increased to a few affecting most areas, especially over central and southern locations. Activity increased further on December 14th with a surface trough over the Yucatan Peninsula influencing the weather leading to some showers and isolated thunderstorms over central southern and offshore areas.

Conditions continued relatively moist in week 3 with higher amounts of moisture over southern locations, except for December 18. An east to north-easterly airflow prevailed on the 15th to 17th, then became east to south-easterly on the 18th and 19th as a ridge dominated the area. At the upper levels, a weakly divergent pattern prevailed from the 15th to 17 then became neutral to weakly convergent with a south-westerly upper-level flow due to an upper-level ridge, except for the 18th and 19th where the flow was north and north-westerly. The moist conditions and somewhat unstable upper levels supporting an increase in showery activity which was further enhanced as the first cold front for the most approached and crossed the country late December 21. Some showers and a few thunderstorms continued from December 14 to the 17, especially over central and southern locations with a few elsewhere from pre-frontal activity. Showers and thunderstorms were isolated and affected mostly central and southern locations to December 20 with a few on the 21st associated with the cold front that affected mostly offshore and southern areas.

Towards the end of the month, drier conditions began to set in with limited moisture in the low levels and very dry at the upper levels as a high-pressure ridge build behind the cold front. A north and north-westerly flow prevailed on the 22nd and 23rd then it veered and became north-easterly through the 26th. A surface trough persisted to December 27th before ridging became the dominant feature over the area. The upper-level pattern was neutral to weakly convergent, and an upper-level trough extended from the Bahamas to eastern Honduras on December 22nd and 23rd, then a ridge prevailed from the 24th to 31st with a south-westerly flow. Cool and cloudy conditions lingered over the area behind the front until December 24th, the isolated showers affected mostly the coast and offshore areas on the 25 to 27. Little to no rainfall was observed to end the month.

The graph and maps below summarize the total rainfall and average maximum and minimum temperatures. They also give an indication of how these readings compare to the normal for the month across the stations sampled. As can be seen, most of the country continue to experience below normal rainfall, except for over some central and southern locations. In terms of temperatures, most of the stations sampled show above normal maximum/daytime and minimum/night-time temperatures.

Monthly Rainfall Summary



Monthly Maximum Temperatures



Monthly Minimum Temperatures



Rainfall Observed: January 2021 (mm)



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