Nicaragua has two distinct seasons, the dry and the wet. The rainy season is called invierno - winter - and corresponds roughly with the Northern Hemisphere summer, from May to November. Verano - summer (December-April) - is hot and often uncomfortably dry; dust covers everything, and the heat seems to rise to a kiln-like intensity. Fewer travellers come in the rainy season - which alone could be a reason for choosing to put up with the daily downpour. The seasons are most pronounced on the Pacific coast , where rain often falls in the afternoons from May to November, although the mornings are dry. Influenced by the Caribbean trade winds, the central mountain region has sporadic rainfall all year, although it is drier in the "summer". Its climate is cooler year-round, with misty clouds covering its blue-green mountain summits. The Atlantic Coast is wet - very wet - year-round, and almost unbelievably hot and humid. As in the rest of the Caribbean region, September and October are the height of the tropical storm season.