Mean
annual temperature in the Santiago de Cuba region is over 26o C
(79o F), reaching in January (coldest month of the winter) 24o C
(75o F) and in July (one of the hottest months of the summer) the
average temperature of the air is over 28o C (82o F).
The annual average of absolute maximum temperatures
is over 36o C (97o F). No wonder the plain of Santiago de Cuba is
considered one of the hottest of the country. In the Sierra Maestra
mountain range, average annual temperature experiments a huge variation
according to height: the lowest-temperature isothermal zone is located
in the Turquino peak having 16o C (61o F). From there, the values
start to increase brusquely as one descends towards the south coast
where they surpass 26o C (79o F). In the lower mountains of that
range, the average values increase from the zone of the Turquino
peak to the east, west and towards the high plains of the Cauto
river basin, exceeding the range from 22 to 24o C (71 to 75o F)
in some areas. In January, the Turquino zone is the place where
the lowest mean annual temperatures are recorded, less than 16o
C (61o F)