San Juan enjoys an average annual temperature of 28°C, although temperatures of 32°C or more are not uncommon during the summer.  The higher temperatures occur especially if the winds come from the south.  The temperature can drop to 18°C during winter, while the average winter temperature is 21°C.  The lowest temperature ever recorded was 16°C on March 3, 1957 at the main airport Luis Muñoz Marin.  Rainfall is distributed fairly well throughout the year, but the months of February, March and April are the driest.  San Juan is a tropical city.

Average maximum and minimum temperatures for each month for all of San Juan (degrees F) are:

January 82, 71

February 83, 71

March 84, 72

April 85, 73

May 86, 75

June 88, 77

July 87, 77

August 88, 77

September 88, 77

October 88, 76

November 85, 74

December 83, 72

Events

Puerto Rico is host to many events, including:

International Folk Festival – January

Musical Theater Festival – January

Festival de la Calle San Sebastián – January

Casals Festival – February

Puertorriqueño Theater Festival – March

Puerto Rican Music Festival – May

National Trovadores – May

Festivities of San Juan Bautista – June

Summer Festival – June

Fiestas de la Bahia – July

Ceramics Festival – September

Children’s Cultural Festival – September

Four National Contest – December

The Feast of San Juan is the official holiday of Puerto Rico.  This feast is very significant for Puerto Ricans because John the Baptist is the patron saint of the island and the capital city of Puerto Rico is named after him.

As part of the festivities, people go to the beaches and wait anxiously for the hour of midnight it.  Being an island, all the beaches of Puerto Rico are crowded with hundreds of people. It has become a ritual for many to walk backwards from the beach, seven times, at twelve midnight for a swim.  This is to ward off bad luck.  This is regarded as a kind of “baptism” by which they claim to start a new phase in their lives. They jump and bathe while performing the ritual in the hope that at sea they are stripped of all “bad influences” and renew their lives to a better future. This tradition has become a veritable feast of the village, where people celebrate with music, dancing, food and beverages.

Some people who do not go to the beaches still celebrate the “Night of San Juan” in their homes, performing other rituals with fruit, candles, incense, water, and figures of San Juan Bautista.