Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - This report describes the historical weather record at the Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico during the last 12 months. This station has records back to April 1990.

Puerto Vallarta has a tropical savanna climate with dry winters. The area within 25 miles of this station is covered by forests - 67 percent; oceans and seas - 27 percent; and grasslands - 6 percent.

Calendar

Daylight saving time (DST) was observed at Puerto Vallarta during the last 12 months. There were two time changes during the last 12 months:

• DST started on Sunday April 7, 2013 at 3:00 am, from CST (GMT-6) to CDT (GMT-5.)
• DST ended on Sunday October 27, 2013 at 1:00 am, from CDT (GMT-5) to CST (GMT-6.)

2014 is not a leap year, so it has 365 days and no February 29th. The first leap year before 2014 was 2012 and the first after will be 2016.

The summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes mark the passing of the seasons. They fall on nearly the same day each year, with differences of a day or two depending on the year. In 2013 they occurred on:

Spring Equinox - Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Summer Solstice - Friday, June 21, 2013

Fall Equinox - Monday, September 23, 2013

Winter Solstice Saturday, December 21, 2013

Temperature

The hottest day of the last 12 months was November 13th, with a high temperature of 95°F. For reference, on that day the average high temperature is 86°F and the high temperature exceeds 88°F only one day in ten. The hottest month of the last 12 months was August with an average daily high temperature of 89.6°F.

Relative to the average, the hottest day was March 3rd. The high temperature that day was 91.4°F, compared to the average of 80.6°F, a difference of 11°F. In relative terms the warmest month was March, with an average high temperature of 80.6°F, compared to an typical value of 72°F.

The longest warm spell was from January 21st to February 12th, constituting 23 consecutive days with warmer than average high temperatures. The month of January had the largest fraction of warmer than average days with 81 percent days with higher than average high temperatures.

The coldest day of the last 12 months was March 6th, with a low temperature of 53.6°F. For reference, on that day the average low temperature is 62.6°F and the low temperature drops below 59°F only one day in ten. The coldest month of the last 12 months was February with an average daily low temperature of 62.6°F.

Relative to the average, the coldest day was March 6th. The low temperature that day was 53.6°F, compared to the average of 63.6°F, a difference of 10°F. In relative terms the coldest month was May, with an average low temperature of 69.8°F, compared to an typical value of 71.6°F.

The longest cold spell was from February 26th to March 8th, constituting 11 consecutive days with cooler than average low temperatures. The month of May had the largest fraction of cooler than average days with 71 percent days with lower than average low temperatures.

Clouds

The clearest month of the last 12 months was March, with 55 percent of days being more clear than cloudy. The longest spell of clear weather was from February 2nd to February 10th, constituting 9 consecutive days that were clearer than they were cloudy.

The cloudiest month of the last 12 months was September, with 93 percent of days being more cloudy than clear. The longest spell of cloudy weather was from August 18th to September 29th, constituting 43 consecutive days that were cloudier than clear.

Precipitation

This station provides hourly reports of significant weather events at and around the station, but does not report the quantity of precipitation at the station itself. This is common for weather stations located outside of the United States, and for a small subset of stations in the United States that are located at lesser used and smaller airports.

Present Weather Reports

This station reports when significant weather events - including precipitation - are visually observed at or near the station. Such events do not always correspond to measured quantities of liquid equivalent precipitation, such as when the event is near by not at the station, or in the case of solid precipitation that does not melt in the collection basin.

The day in the last 12 months with the most precipitation observations was July 7th. There were 12 hourly weather reports that day - out of a maximum of 24 - in which some form of precipitation was observated at or near the station. The month with the most precipitation observations was September, with 95 hourly present weather reports involving some form of precipitation.

As determined by the present weather reports, the longest dry spell was from January 15th to June 2nd, constituting 139 consecutive days with no observed precipitation. The months of February, March, April, and May were completely without observed precipitation.

The month with the largest fraction of days with at least some observed precipitation was September, with 67 percent of days reporting some observed precipitation.

Humidity

Humidity is an important factor in determining how weather conditions feel to a person experiencing them. Hot and humid days feel even hotter than hot and dry days because the high level of water content in humid air discourages the evaporation of sweat from a person's skin.

The least humid month of the last 12 months was March with an average daily low humidity of 46 percent, and the most humid month was September with an average daily low humidity of 65 percent.

But it is important to keep in mind that humidity does not tell the whole picture and the dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find a given set of weather conditions.

Dew Point

Dew point is the temperature below which water vapor will condense into liquid water. It is therefore also related to the rate of evaporation of liquid water. Since the evaporation of sweat is an important cooling mechanism for the human body, the dew point is an important measurement for understanding how dry, comfortable, or humid a given set of weather conditions will feel.

Generally speaking, dew points below 50°F will feel a bit dry to some people, but comfortable to people accustomed to dry conditions; dew points from 50°F to 68°F are fairly comfortable to most people, and dew points above 68°F are increasingly uncomfortable, becoming oppressive around 77°F.

To take some examples, and basing our categorization on the daily high dew point in the last 12 months, February had no dry days, 16 comfortable days, and 12 humid days; May had no dry days, 1 comfortable day, and 30 humid days; August had no dry days, no comfortable days, and 31 humid days; and November had no dry days, no comfortable days, and 30 humid days.

Wind

The highest sustained wind speed was 69.5 mph, occurring on July 18; the highest daily mean wind speed was 9 mph on June 14th.

The windiest month was June, with an average wind speed of 6.7 mph. The least windy month was January, with an average wind speed of 2.2 mph.

Visibility

Visibility is the maximum distance at which a given reference object or light can be clearly discerned. In the United States, visibilities that are greater than or equal to 10 miles are typically reported as 10 miles.

The day of the last 12 months with the lowest average visibility was June 3, with an average visibility of 5 miles The month with the lowest average visibility was June, with an average visibility of 28.2 miles. With an average visibility of 34.8 miles, the month of April had the highest average visibility.

Cloud Ceiling

The cloud ceiling is the altitude of the lowest layer of clouds that are at categorized as broken (mostly cloudy) or overcast (cloudy.) If no such cloud layer exists then the ceiling is unlimited and no value is reported.

The day of the last 12 months with the lowest average cloud ceiling was October 10th, with an average cloud ceiling of 1,500 feet. The month with the lowest average cloud ceiling was June, with an average cloud ceiling of 8,953 feet. The month of January has the highest average cloud ceiling, with an average cloud ceiling of 17,188 feet.