America holiday weather

North America climate

North America's climate is widely varied geographically stretching the equivalent of North Africa to the far north of Scandinavia.

The furthest northern parts of Canada experience an arctic climate with temperatures near or below freeing throughout the whole year.

More southern Canada largely experiences a sub-arctic climate with very cold winters punctuated by some surprisingly high temperatures throughout the summer months.

Into America, most of the central and eastern areas experience a cold continental climate with a warm summer and cold winter. This example for New York shows these warm summers with temperatures reaching 30 °C average in summer and a much colder 4 °C over winter.

New York: average daily maximum temperature (°C)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
4.0	5.2	9.5	16.0	21.4	26.7	29.9	29.0	24.9	18.5	12.4	6.7	17.0

New York: average monthly rainfall (mm)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
81	77	91	99	97	93	97	87	84	73	93	87	1059

The south-eastern states surrounding and including Florida see a warm temperate climate which sees rain throughout the year but most pronounced during the summer months.

Florida for example sees warm summers peaking at around 33 °C and mild winters with average temperatures no cooler than 22 °C.  The summer downpours are evident peaking at 186 mm monthly rainfall in June.

Orlando, Florida: average daily maximum temperature (°C)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
21.9	23.1	25.8	28.3	31.3	32.6	33.2	33.0	33.0	31.9	29.1	25.5	25.5

Orlando, Florida: average monthly rainfall (mm)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
58	77	81	46	90	186	184	172	153	61	58	55	1175

Many of the southern states and the central-west experience dry climates with semi-desert or desert conditions meaning very little rain throughout the year and warm weather throughout the year, though some very cool temperatures can be experienced overnight.  

Central America climate

The climate of Central America is almost exclusively dominated by tropical climates with a distinct east/west split.

The western side facing the Pacific sees a hot tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons, while the eastern side faces the Atlantic and generally experiences an equatorial climate with hot and wet conditions throughout the year

Cancun, Mexico: average daily maximum temperature (°C)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
30.5	32.2	34.2	36.7	37.5	36.0	35.3	35.3	34.7	32.9	31.3	30.4	33.9

The Caribbean islands tend to see their seasons separated into the wet season and the dry season.  The wettest months are May to October with particularly high totals often experienced during August and September when hurricane season peaks and storms can bring 250-500 mm rain in just two or three days.

The winter months are the most dry and sunny with a slight breeze making the high temperatures most comfortable.

South America climate

South America's climate is widely tropical across the northern half of the continent and much of Brazil, though no without significant exceptions, such as the Atacama desert which is the driest area of the continent.

Elsewhere the Andes mountain range which stretches almost the entire length of the continent causes a high mountain climate which in itself sees dramatic variation.

Paraguay, Uruguay and much of Argentina sees a mostly warm temperate climate, while Chile to the west of the continent is perhaps the country with the most fascinatingly varied climate. It stretches 2,500 miles ranging from dry deserts to the north, warm temperate climate in the centre and a cold temperate climate in the south, while the Andes run straight through the east of the country with a high mountain climate.