Panama City, the capital of Panama, sits on the Pacific coast at the southern entrance of the Panama Canal, on a low, humid isthmus at approximately 8.98°N, 79.52°W. It has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — hot and humid year-round — with a long rainy season and a distinct dry season driven by the trade winds.

There is no summer in the temperate sense: temperatures stay hot and steady, with daytime highs around 31–33°C and warm, humid nights near 24–25°C. The rainy season, from May to December, brings heavy afternoon and evening downpours and thunderstorms, with October and November the wettest months; humidity is high and the cloud is thick.

There is no true winter, but the dry season from January to April brings sunnier, breezier days with much less rain and slightly lower humidity, as the northeast trade winds sweep across the isthmus. Temperatures barely change, and this bright, breezy stretch is comfortably the most pleasant time of year and the peak tourist season.

Panama City receives on the order of 1,800–2,000 mm of rain a year, overwhelmingly in the rainy season from May to December, with an October and November peak, while February and March are markedly dry; the Caribbean side of the isthmus is far wetter still. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

The Panama Canal depends entirely on rainfall: each ship transiting consumes tens of millions of litres of fresh water from Lake Gatún, so a weak rainy season — as during severe El Niño droughts — forces the canal authority to restrict transits, with global consequences for shipping. Panama lies south of the hurricane belt and is rarely struck directly.

To follow any single measurement in Panama City more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.