Climate of Norte de Santander
Temperature, thermal floors, rainy seasons and best time to visit Norte de Santander. Complete climate data by municipality.
The department of Norte de Santander has one of the widest climatic ranges in Colombia. Cúcuta, its capital, located in the Catatumbo valley at 215 meters above sea level and on the border with Venezuela, is one of the hottest cities in Colombia, with temperatures of 30 to 38 °C and high humidity. In the heights of the Eastern mountain range, municipalities like Pamplona (2,343 meters above sea level) have an average temperature of 14 °C, perfect for cold climate tourism. The Catatumbo region, to the northwest, is a warm and rainy jungle area, famous for the Catatumbo lightning, a unique atmospheric phenomenon that produces almost permanent storms over Lake Maracaibo.
THERMAL FLOORS OF NORTE DE SANTANDER
Temperature in Norte de Santander varies by altitude. These are the department's thermal floors:
| Thermal Floor | Altitude | Temperature | Municipalities |
| Warm semi-arid | 100 – 500 m | 28 – 38 °C | Cúcuta, Villa del Rosario, Los Patios, El Zulia |
| Warm humid | 100 – 400 m | 26 – 30 °C | Tibú, El Tarra, Convención (Catatumbo) |
| Temperate | 500 – 2,000 m | 17 – 24 °C | Ocaña, Ábrego, Chitagá |
| Cold | 2,000 – 3,000 m | 10 – 17 °C | Pamplona, Silos, Herrán, Labateca |
| Páramo | > 3,000 m | 5 – 12 °C | Páramos de Tamá, Guerrero, Santurbán |
RAINY AND DRY SEASONS IN NORTE DE SANTANDER
Bimodal regime: rainy April–June and August–November, dry December–March and July. Cúcuta receives 900–1,100 mm annually but with extreme heat. Pamplona receives 700–800 mm. The Catatumbo has almost permanent rainfall (2,500–3,000 mm). The Catatumbo lightning occurs especially at night, almost all year round.
TEMPERATURE BY MUNICIPALITY IN NORTE DE SANTANDER
Average annual temperatures of the main municipalities of Norte de Santander:
| Municipality | Average Temperature |
| Cúcuta | 34 °C |
| Ocaña | 21 °C |
| Pamplona | 14 °C |
| Villa del Rosario | 33 °C |
| Los Patios | 33 °C |
| Tibú | 28 °C |
| Silos | 11 °C |
| Herrán | 12 °C |
BEST TIME TO VISIT NORTE DE SANTANDER
December–January: dry season throughout the department, more tolerable in Cúcuta thanks to the north wind. For Pamplona and páramo areas: June–August. To see the Catatumbo lightning: September–November, during the rainy season, at night.