🇬🇹Guatemala

Guatemala lies between 13°44′ and 17°49′N as a Central American country of approximately 108,889 km² with both Pacific and Caribbean (Atlantic) coasts. A rugged volcanic spine—the Sierra Madre de Guatemala—runs parallel to the Pacific coast, hosting Volcán Tajumulco at 4,220 m, Central America's highest peak, alongside several active volcanoes including Pacaya, Fuego, and Santiaguito.

High mountain basins shelter Guatemala City at 1,500 m and Quetzaltenango at 2,330 m, while the northern Petén lowlands harbor the Maya rainforest limestone plateau and the Caribbean coastal Izabal lowland completes the topographic mosaic. Climate zones span tropical savanna Aw on the Pacific lowlands, tropical monsoon Am on the wetter Caribbean side, tropical rainforest Af in the Petén interior, cool-temperate subtropical highland Cwb in the elevated basins, and tundra ET above roughly 3,500 m on the highest volcanic peaks.

Guatemala City at 1,500 m averages 17°C in January and 21°C in May with 1,200 mm rainfall, following the classic verano dry season from November through April and the invierno wet season from May through October, interrupted by the mid-summer canícula dry break.

Major weather and climate events affecting Guatemala include Hurricane Mitch (October 1998), which caused flooding, Tropical Storm Agatha (2010), and two consecutive hurricanes, Eta and Iota (November 2020). Recurrent severe canícula droughts in the Pacific dry corridor (corredor seco) drive food insecurity. The Volcán de Fuego erupted in 2018, causing displacement of thousands. More recently, intensifying droughts from 2023 to 2024 combined with forest stress in the Sierra Madre reflect growing climate vulnerability in the region.

Major climate events include the severe flooding from Hurricane Mitch in October 1998, Tropical Storm Agatha in 2010, and the severe double blow of hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020. Recurrent severe canícula droughts in the Pacific dry corridor (corredor seco) drive chronic food insecurity, the severe 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption displaced thousands, and intensifying droughts in 2023–2024 combined with accelerating Sierra Madre forest stress underscore mounting climate vulnerability.

Our archive covers 0 Guatemalan cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940.