But the Weather Forecast Says???

Of course, it is only natural to be checking Belize weather before your trip. I sometimes get emails from people commenting on feeling like they are going to be slammed with rain on vacation because of what their weather app shows. Below are two examples of readers’ concerns.

• The forecast looks ominous wed through sat but crossing our fingers. I’ve been checking the weather, it looks like non-stop rain for weeks!! I hope it clears up the next week or so! Too late to cancel everything!! – Margaret Mitchell and here is what Margaret had to say Jan 21st while still here, “it’s been great, no rain even tho the forecast called for some! Today turned out beautiful!! Monday was cloudy but no rain. I forgot how humid and windy it is here tho!! Wed looks like sunshine hopefully!”
• I stumbled across your blog and really feel hopeful after seeing your post about tracking the thunderstorm forecasts, but… My partner and I are in a bit of anxiety looking at the rainy forecast for Jan 14-24. We both desperately need to get some sunshine (we’re from a gloomy sun-starved Toronto). I am wondering if you feel the same ‘cry wolf’ predictions about this upcoming timeframe seeing that you live there and have a front-row view? Considering canceling and finding a sunnier place, which is going to be a bit $$. I did not hear back from Nelu Neluhan how she felt her trip was weather-wise. My advice was: Try not to have too much anxiety. It is rare that we get all day everyday rains. While we have had a bit more lately, it is strong heavy bursts and does not last too long. Last night a good example, it started to pour right before I was going to leave to go get dinner. I stopped and waited no more than 10 min, the rain stopped and my whole walk through town was dry as a bone.  During the time they were here, it was fairly dry.

Often our fast heavy can come more so at night or earlier in the morning although sometimes they hit in the afternoon. Being able to waterproof your electronics and wallet is something you will be glad you did just in case. A friend recently got both his money and phone soaked on a boat ride and learned the hard way. Even a ziplock bag can save you during a sudden downpour or in my friends’ case high winds and choppy waters.

Below is the frypan method to quantify how much rain we can get in a short 5 – 10-minute shower. While at Atlantic bank the other day, a short shower happened and as I was walking home I saw this “rain gauge table” 😀

The reality is while our weather may be a bit inclement at times and your weather app may be showing doom and gloom, we generally do ok weather-wise. The lagoon side image below was taken on a “rainy day.” As was the feature image but I never felt a drop in spite of the ominous dark cloud over town.

As you can see, walking home from Cg Esthetic Salon the back road below was fairly free of puddles in spite of late rain the night before.

Reader Weather Answer

As you saw above, I put a few fishhooks out there to people who had been wondering about the weather in Belize, January and otherwise and Dane got back to me with a more detailed answer below regarding his family vacation experience of July and August climate.

“Your site says to ask about a cart discount? Also wondering about the weather, on weather.com site says storms every day for the next two weeks is that accurate usually?”

This is the complete message that I sent to Taco Girl on July 26, 2019. I was set to arrive just 3 days later. Let’s face it, when we dish out thousands of dollars or euros on flights, lodging, golf carts, tours, bathing suits, reef-safe sunscreen and more, we don’t want mother nature raining on our parade, so to speak. Take a look at the date, I was arriving smack-dab in the middle of what Belizians call the ‘Wet Season’. Also, I was going to be spending my birthday there, and this trip was a last-minute change from our planned vacation to Europe! (you can read more about that, why we changed, and our first trip to Belize, HERE) To say I was concerned about the weather would be an understatement.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): The weather was great. Don’t sweat it. Rain or shine, you’ll have a great time in Belize, from Ambergris Caye, to Caye Caulker to Placencia and more. Check the weather before you go, I can almost promise that once you’re there, you won’t really care.

Back story/Long version: I’ve been sailing during hurricane season in the British Virgin Islands. Multiple times. I like it. There are WAY fewer people, there are plenty of mooring balls, there are no crowds on the beaches, and the flights are cheaper. Did I get rained on? Yes. Just about daily for about 5 minutes each day. We could see the storm coming, we’d get outside on the boat and take a literal ‘rain shower’. Nice and refreshing. I also once had to make a run for it, from a tropical storm that eventually turned into “Hurricane Danielle”. We made it back to base in the BVI, turned in our boat, got to USVI and the airport was closed, so we grabbed a room at the only hotel on St Thomas with a generator, and had a great time – practically the whole island showed up once power went out, and it was a 3-day hurricane party!

Belize, I’ve found is quite similar. Clouds may appear in the afternoon, and it may rain here or there for a few minutes, and then it passes. It rained twice during our week-plus in Ambergris Caye, and it never dampened our spirits. Once was at night, and we woke to a refreshingly cool morning and damp seats in our golf cart. My daughter and I didn’t even bother wiping them down, after all, we wore bathing suits all day, every day. The other time that it rained on us, we were en-route to John’s Secret in the ‘far’ north (past the turn-off for Secret Beach). We had fun driving in the rain, and felt like adventurers – and by the time we got there, it was past us.

If you really can’t stand the rain, I’d recommend booking during dry season for sure, but even then, the forecast may call for rain. Don’t change your plans though until your tour operator tells you that you must. Even if there is a little rain, you won’t notice it while diving or snorkeling or any of the other myriad of activities on the water. If there is a severe-enough storm to keep the tour from going out, you won’t have to pay, and the operator will let you know.

Top Tip: I have a waterproof phone, and purchased a local sim-card when I arrived, so that I could call/text restaurants and other businesses (golf cart companies) etc, but I still found myself keeping it in a quart-sized ziplock every day. As tacogirl suggests, bring a handful of quart-sized ziplock with you, they don’t take up much room in your luggage, and we kept used ours to have a central location for phone, cart key, and wallet/change. Actually considering a return trip instead of our planned trip to Costa Rica this summer – Dane Hylen

Of Course not everyone has quite the same weather experience.

Overcast Days

Looks like the forecast is calling for rain next week?!?!!? Let’s hope it’s like a Florida rain in San Pedro where it only rains for 10 minutes! I had written him back and said: “That was yesterday’s weather, two short bursts in the morning.”

Although we were expecting to see bright sun and no clouds coming down to Ambergris Caye from the Northeast portion of the United States, my wife and I, during our recent December trip to Belize, experiences a bit cooler temperatures and mostly overcast skies during our 5-day trip. While we didn’t spend much time laying out by the pool or at the beach, we certainly were able to have a great trip down in Belize and kept ourselves occupied with different activities during the course of our stay. We rented bikes and golf carts from the hotel and we were able to explore various parts of the Island (including Secret Beach), we were to visit many different restaurants and bars in the area (so many to choose from) and spent one day back in Belize City to visit the Belize Zoo, see Mayan ruins and do a cave tubing tour. Ambergris Caye is a great place and we’re already looking forward to the next time we can spend some time down there. – Adam D. Taylor

Temperatures in Belize in January

Current weather conditions for San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize 78°F or 25°C variably cloudy and cool conditions with 20% chance of precipitation tonight.

According to the Belize meteorological services, Marine Forecast, there was a small craft warning in effect on Wednesday but the winds are much calmer now and they are back to reporting astronomical conditions.

Notice the windswept water lines coming from the northwest in the picture below. I took that Tuesday while waiting for my friend Dwayne to arrive at the Thunderbolt dock in on the lagoon side of town. It was definitely a sweater and pants weather for most of the day.

Today I got rained out twice. The first was a short fast rain the second a bit longer. Altogether it put me behind about 1 hour in my errand run. While out in town I did not have one moment where I was worried about getting wet and it was almost too warm for my trench coat. I popped over to the beach for a weather shot. If you liked this post and weather pictures you will also like Belize Vacation Rain explained.