Antigua Guatemala weather in January

January in Antigua is the month the forum describes as about as good as the weather gets here: dry, sunny, highs in the 70s and 80s F, and rain perhaps once or twice across the whole of January and February. The catch is the night. Antigua sits high, temperatures drop into the 50s F after dark, and the colonial buildings have no central heating - so the cold is an indoor problem as much as an outdoor one. The packing advice regulars give is unusually specific: trousers and breathable short sleeves for the day, a fleece or light sweater for the evening, fleece preferred because it is warm, sheds light rain and does not wrinkle. The record: 25.5C days against 15.3C nights, 2.2 precipitation days carrying 6.8mm, humidity 67 percent, 10.4 hours of sun and AQI 67.

Regulars are specific this highland city at roughly 5,200 feet enjoys what's locally called an eternal spring climate, late April marking the very beginning of the rainy season with genuinely wide variability - some years bringing no rain at all through the month, others bringing a lot. Our row backs that mild, genuinely wet read, 27.9C reading as a hot 30C, over 17.8C nights feeling 19C, with a substantial 98.8mm of rain across 17.9 days and humidity at 67 percent. Regulars are consistent daytime highs commonly cited around 26C with nights in the high teens, comfortable enough that heavy layers aren't needed even as the rainy season approaches. Air quality here can also be a real factor this time of year given regional burning season. The record: 11.3 hours of sun, an 8.7 kph wind and AQI 88.

Regulars call this a fantastic month, sunny and warm by day with genuinely cool to cold nights as dry-season cold air masses reach the highlands - the wet season here runs May to October, placing March squarely in the dry, reliable half of the year. Our row backs both halves of that swing, 27.6C over 16.9C, with rain a minor presence at 30.5mm across 9.9 days. One caution some visitors raise for the back half of the month into April is poor visibility, a haze that settles over the highlands as the dry season wears on - agricultural burning is the usual cause across this region, worth knowing before planning a view-dependent day trip. The air quality column already shows the season's toll, AQI 81. The record: humidity 64 percent, 11.1 hours of sun and a 9.6 kph wind.

November is the handover month and regulars put the line at its start: the rains are generally done by the beginning of November, so early in the month still carries a decent chance of one and late in the month barely any. What they value is the overlap - the dry season starting while the countryside is still lush from the rains just finished. They add that it can be windy and cool, and that the town's 5,000 feet of altitude is why the temperature barely moves across the year. Our row gives 24.9C over 16.8C with 60.1mm across 9 days. The figure to check is the air at AQI 73. The record: humidity 77 percent, 9.7 hours of sun and a 9.1 kph wind.

January and February are the months regulars name for Antigua: good weather, not overrun, and rain maybe once or twice across a four or five week stay - our row gives 13.1mm across 3.8 precipitation days. The qualification is about sight rather than comfort. Three volcanoes stand over the town and only Fuego is active, but the view is never guaranteed: cloud rolls in even in the dry season and can lift again just as suddenly, and a storm is possible whatever the label says. What they do promise is that mornings are usually the gorgeous part, so plan the view and the Acatenango start early. Our 26.5C day over a 15.8C night is the altitude. The record: humidity 64 percent, 10.7 hours of sun, a 10.6 kph wind and AQI 66.