By Alexandre Aguiar - MetSul Weather Center (Brazil)

Photos of the Juventud Rebelde newspaper from Cuba

How about a beach vacation in Cuba?

The Caribbean should be a great choice to avoid the harsh winter of the Northern Hemisphere, but at this moment it is not. If you go to Cuba, consider to take in the luggage a coat, gloves and a scarf. The Meteorological Institute of Cuba has been issuing daily bulletins on the cold snap in the country. On Thursday, the lowest temperatures in the island were recorded at Playa Giron (4.5C) and Santo Domingo (4.6C). Ciego de Avila had its lowest ever temperature recorded in January (5.2C), beating the old record of 6.0C of 1997. The same happened in Falla with a low of 5.4C, below the month record of 6.3 of 1981.

Others stations recorded on Thursday 5.5C in Aguada de Pasajeros, 6.0C in Jaguey Grande, 6.1C in Jucaro, 6,7 in Indio Hatuey, 6.9C in Yabu, 7.0 in Sagua La Grande, 7.3C in Colon, 7,4C in Sancti Spiritus, 7.5C in Jovellanos, 7.6C in Cienfuegos, 8.3C in Celsius Esmeralda, 8.4C in Union de Reyes, 8.5C in Batabano, 8.8C in Isabel Rubio and 9.7 in Tapeste. Caibarien had an all-time low for any month of the year with 10.7C, beating the old record of 10.8 of 1996.

This Friday, Cuba had another cold start to the day, but the Cuban Weather Service reported no records. The lowest temperatures in the country were observed in Indio Hatuey (6.6C), Santo Domingo (7.0C) and Bainoa (7.1). In other cities, the lows were 8.2C in Indio Jovellanos, 8.4C in Jaguey Grande, Colon and Esmeralda, 8.6C in Cienfuegos, 9.4C in Batabano, 9.5C in Tapaste and Sagua la Grande and 9.7C in Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus.

The lowest ever recorded temperature in Cuba took place in Bainoa, Province of La Habana, on February 18th, 1996: 0.6C.

Read more here.
ICECAP Note: Another cold shot will occur this weekend, perhaps stronger