July 2019 Weather Summary for Belize
July, on average, is the second wettest month of the year for the country of Belize. Systems that affect the country during this month normally include tropical waves, tropical upper tropospheric troughs (TUTTs) and occasionally tropical cyclones. However, July 2019 was significantly drier than normal.
Generally warm and dry weather conditions dominated from the 1st through to the 5th of July. The dominant surface feature during this period was the Atlantic High-Pressure Ridge north and northeast of the area, which supported a moderate easterly surface flow. Based on the National Hurricane Center (NHC) analysis, tropical waves that crossed during this period were mostly south of Belize. Upper level conditions were mostly convergent and dry, which inhibited the formation of deep convection over the area. As a result, only light isolated showers were noted., Except for Melinda which recorded 22.9 mm of rainfall on the 5th, most stations recorded little to no rainfall during this period
An increase in upper level divergence and atmospheric moisture over the area on the 6th, supported an increase in showers and thunderstorms mainly over central areas of the country that afternoon. Moisture increased further on the 7th supporting showers, thunderstorms and periods of rain mainly over central and northern areas. This activity continued throughout the night of the 7th through early morning on the 8th, while spreading to most areas of the country. A total of 106 mm of rainfall was recorded at Punta Gorda on the morning of the 8th of July. NHC analysis showed a tropical wave passing over the country around midday on the 8th.
Another dry spell affected most of the country from the 9th through to the 14th of July. Showers were isolated across the country except for slightly more in the south during the nighttime hours. One tropical wave crossed with axis mostly south of the country on the 13th. This system produced rainfall mostly over southern Belize.Punta Gorda recorded 24 mm and 26 mm of rainfall on the 13th and 14th, respectively.
A tropical wave crossed the country late on the 15th supporting a modest increase in moisture and resulting in a few showers and isolated thunderstorms over central and southern areas of the country. Relatively moist conditions lingered over the area on the following day, resulting in similar weather. Another tropical wave then crossed the country late on the 17th supporting a few showers and isolated thunderstorms mostly over inland areas during the evening then spreading to southern areas overnight. Belmopan recorded 26.6 mm of rainfall on the 17th.
Relatively dry conditions returned over the country later the 18th through to the 19th. This was followed by an increase in moisture once more on the 20th due to passage of a tropical wave coupled with favorable conditions at the upper levels. This aided in the development of some showers and a few thunderstorms over southern Belize before dawn on the 20th. A few showers, thunderstorms and periods of rain then spread to most areas of the country later in the day. This activity continued throughout the night of the 20th through early morning on the 21st, decreasing later in the day. The highest reported daily rainfall was at Hershey where a total of 129.2 mm was recorded on the morning of the 20th.
A third dry spell for the month was noted from the 22nd to the 27th of July 2019. The dry was particularly intense during the first two days of this dry spell with little to no rainfall observed across the country. Based on NHC analysis a weak tropical wave crossed mostly south of the country late on the 22nd but this did not produce any significant rainfall over Belize. The remainder of the period continued mostly dry but isolated showers were noted. Tropical waves crossed on the early morning of the 25th and around midnight on the 26th. These supported generally isolated showers across the country.
Another and slightly stronger tropical wave crossed on the night of the 27th. This system produced a few showers and thunderstorms mostly over southern and central areas on the night of the 27th through early morning of the 28th. This activity decreased later in the day of the 28th. 64 mm of rainfall was recorded in Punta Gorda.
The last few days of July 2019 saw variations in moisture levels. Showers were generally isolated on the 29th with more activity over the south during the night. The 30th saw a few showers and isolated thunderstorms in the south during the morning and inland later in the afternoon. Finally, on the last day of July 2019 a few showers and isolated thunderstorms affected mostly central and northern parts of the country.
Although several tropical waves crossed the area in July 2019, these were mostly weak and crossed mostly south of the country. As a result, rainfall was well below normal for most of the country during the month. The graph and maps below summarize the total rainfall and average maximum and minimum temperature recorded during the month of July 2019. They also give an indication of how these readings compare to the normal for the month across the stations sampled. As can be seen, rainfall was below normal for the entire country during the month. Values ranged from around 20% below normal in the south to over 50% below normal over central and northern areas. In terms of maximum/daytime temperatures, all the stations sampled here show that daytime temperatures were warmer than normal during July 2019. A similar conclusion can be made about the nighttime/minimum temperatures across the country, except for Central Farm where night times were slightly cooler than average for the month.
Click on the link below to view the rainfall anomaly for July 2019:
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