Back to forecast
On This Day: Puerto Rico’s Temperature Bolts Into The History Books
June 30, 2020 at 02:56 PM EDT
By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill
When you think of a trip to Puerto Rico, what comes to mind? A winter hotspot for those who relish warm weather all year round, a place that gets too uncomfortable in the summer and a location that has to contend with the fierce winds and rain with tropical systems, right? Well, it might not come as much of a surprise that today marks the 24-year anniversary of its all-time record high temperature.
That’s right, Mona Island established Puerto Rico’s all-time high temperature on this date in 1996 when the mercury climbed to 104 degrees! With that said, the record is still being reviewed for accuracy. Nonetheless, the weather on July 2, 1996 was ideal for record heat. High pressure firmly entrenched across the Caribbean promoted sunshine and no rain was observed.
You might be asking where Mona Island is with respect to the group of islands that make up Puerto Rico. It is in the Mona Passage, a strait that connects the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Mona Island is the third largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago and only 7 miles across and 4 miles wide.
The second highest record high temperature in Puerto Rico occurred August 21, 2003 when Ponce, about 36 miles south as the crow flies from Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan, reached 100 degrees.
Now, we’ve talked about the heat extremes in Puerto Rico but how much do temperatures fluctuate in this tropical location? Not very much—the average high temperature reaches 89 degrees between June 18 and August 26. The coolest weather occurs in late December to early February when the average high temperature drops a notch to just below 84 degrees.
About 65 days of the year see temperatures above 90 degrees. This is comparable to the hot part of the year in Pensacola, Fla., or Dodge City, Kan. August and September are usually the warmest with 11 days above 90 degrees. July typically sees 9 days in the 90s.
That being said, don’t expect to see sub-freezing temperatures at this tropical location. The lowest temperature ever recorded is 40 degrees at Aibonito on March 9, 1911. This record low was tied 55 years later on January 24, 1966 at San Sebastian.
Average temperatures don’t vary much and stay far above freezing for a couple of reasons—Puerto Rico is surrounded by water, which helps regulate temperatures all year round and because its only 1,250 miles north of the Equator, Puerto Rico has fairly consistent daylight throughout the year.
June sees the longest period of daylight with 13 hours and 44 minutes but the shortest amount of daylight in mid-December is only two hours less than the peak in June. Compare that to Denver, which sees as much as 14 hours and 59 minutes of daylight in mid-June but drops 5 hours of daylight in December with 9 hours and 21 minutes between sunrise and sunset. Denver also has a 46-degree swing between its average high of near 90 degrees in early July and lower 40s in late December.
Puerto Rico gets its fair share of downpours though. Fifty-six inches of rain typically falls in a year, with May, September and November being the wettest months. The driest time of the year generally is February and March with about 2 inches of rain on average each of those months.
Tropical systems in the fall bring the most rain to Puerto Rico. For instance, the highest observed rainfall was 23.75 inches at Toro Negro Forest on October 7, 1985 thanks to Tropical Storm Isabel’s passage.
In recent memory, Hurricane Maria, the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, made landfall in Yabuoa, Puerto Rico, as a strong category 4 hurricane in late September 2017. Maria was strong enough to destroy Puerto Rico’s weather radar, which is designed to withstand winds of 133 mph. Not to be outdone, 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s cell towers were damaged and a combination of Maria and Irma from two weeks prior left all residents completely without power.
While it does escape winter’s cold and snowy wrath, Puerto Rico is a magnet for tropical fury and hot summer sunshine.
-----------
Story Image: A map showing Mona Island and Puerto Rico.
That’s right, Mona Island established Puerto Rico’s all-time high temperature on this date in 1996 when the mercury climbed to 104 degrees! With that said, the record is still being reviewed for accuracy. Nonetheless, the weather on July 2, 1996 was ideal for record heat. High pressure firmly entrenched across the Caribbean promoted sunshine and no rain was observed.
You might be asking where Mona Island is with respect to the group of islands that make up Puerto Rico. It is in the Mona Passage, a strait that connects the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Mona Island is the third largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago and only 7 miles across and 4 miles wide.
The second highest record high temperature in Puerto Rico occurred August 21, 2003 when Ponce, about 36 miles south as the crow flies from Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan, reached 100 degrees.
Now, we’ve talked about the heat extremes in Puerto Rico but how much do temperatures fluctuate in this tropical location? Not very much—the average high temperature reaches 89 degrees between June 18 and August 26. The coolest weather occurs in late December to early February when the average high temperature drops a notch to just below 84 degrees.
About 65 days of the year see temperatures above 90 degrees. This is comparable to the hot part of the year in Pensacola, Fla., or Dodge City, Kan. August and September are usually the warmest with 11 days above 90 degrees. July typically sees 9 days in the 90s.
That being said, don’t expect to see sub-freezing temperatures at this tropical location. The lowest temperature ever recorded is 40 degrees at Aibonito on March 9, 1911. This record low was tied 55 years later on January 24, 1966 at San Sebastian.
Average temperatures don’t vary much and stay far above freezing for a couple of reasons—Puerto Rico is surrounded by water, which helps regulate temperatures all year round and because its only 1,250 miles north of the Equator, Puerto Rico has fairly consistent daylight throughout the year.
June sees the longest period of daylight with 13 hours and 44 minutes but the shortest amount of daylight in mid-December is only two hours less than the peak in June. Compare that to Denver, which sees as much as 14 hours and 59 minutes of daylight in mid-June but drops 5 hours of daylight in December with 9 hours and 21 minutes between sunrise and sunset. Denver also has a 46-degree swing between its average high of near 90 degrees in early July and lower 40s in late December.
Puerto Rico gets its fair share of downpours though. Fifty-six inches of rain typically falls in a year, with May, September and November being the wettest months. The driest time of the year generally is February and March with about 2 inches of rain on average each of those months.
Tropical systems in the fall bring the most rain to Puerto Rico. For instance, the highest observed rainfall was 23.75 inches at Toro Negro Forest on October 7, 1985 thanks to Tropical Storm Isabel’s passage.
In recent memory, Hurricane Maria, the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, made landfall in Yabuoa, Puerto Rico, as a strong category 4 hurricane in late September 2017. Maria was strong enough to destroy Puerto Rico’s weather radar, which is designed to withstand winds of 133 mph. Not to be outdone, 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s cell towers were damaged and a combination of Maria and Irma from two weeks prior left all residents completely without power.
While it does escape winter’s cold and snowy wrath, Puerto Rico is a magnet for tropical fury and hot summer sunshine.
-----------
Story Image: A map showing Mona Island and Puerto Rico.