What are temperatures like on top of the highest mountain(s)? Does it get cold at night?
In general, mountain temperatures become colder the higher the altitude gets, mountains tend to have much wetter climates than the surrounding flat land, and mountain weather conditions can change dramatically from one hour to the next, from a perfectly clear sky to a thunder storm, or a temperature drop from extremely hot to near or below freezing.
Some guidelines to keep in mind are the following:
– Temperatures remain fairly consistent throughout Cuba, averaging about 21° C in winter (December through February) to about 27° C or higher in summer (June through August), but because of the elevation of some of the mountain ranges, temperatures can plunge to near freezing some nights in midwinter. Near the tops of these ranges, temperatures remain consistently lower year-round than in the hotter lowland areas, and frosts sometimes occur.
– Cuba’s dry season runs from November through April and its rainy season from May through October. Average annual rainfall is about 1,300 mm, although it’s generally higher in the mountains. On the northern slopes of the Sierra Maestra, for example, some 3,000 mm can fall annually. The northeast coast and north-facing mountains around Baracoa constitute the rainiest region in Cuba, with annual rains reaching 3,600 mm in the heights of the Sierra Sagua-Baracoa.
For Up to Date Information two links that provide general information about weather in Cuba are:
This information service in English provides the current day’s weather news, previous Cuba weather reports, a tourist advisory and links to previous Cuba weather stories, a full weather archive index, and some general tourist-related information.
This is the Spanish-language online daily weather report put out by the Instituto de Meteorología de Cuba, also known as INSMET (the Cuban Meteorological Institute). It provides a range of information on the current day’s weather, tropical storms, climate (including droughts and warnings), agro-meteorology, air quality, weather maps, and links to other sites.