Rainy season(s) in the Caribbean?

[Frank O]

I've done a search on the archives, but don't see my question addressed precisely ...

My wife has booked us for a week on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands for Easter Week in April. My previous Caribbean experience has been limited to three trips to Akumal, plus relatively brief non-diving time on Martinique and Guadeloupe.

From my Akumal visits, I think of rainy season (and, correspondingly, buggy season) as being the time of year when hurricanes can come through -- roughly August to Oct-Nov, give or take a few weeks.

However, an experienced dive pro who used to live/work on St. John for several years tells me that April will be just after the rainy season, so we should be prepared for a lot of mosquitos.

My question, therefore, is this. Is there a consistent "rainy season" in the Caribbean? Or are there several identifiable subregions with consistent "rainy seasons" of their own (i.e. rainy season in USVI may be distinct from rainy season in Belize or Bonaire)? Thanks for any input on this.

[ggunn]

On Cozumel, the rainy season is May-September.

[RoatanMan]

-it's not raining in Belize. :D

[sngatlanta]

Here is a little list that might help. The seasons are most defiantly distinctive from one local to another. We’re talking about a large area and effects from many different weather makers such as latitude, relation to land and seasonal ocean currents in the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean. Hurricane season does not always relate to rainy season.
Hope this Helps.

Best Time To Dive:
Cayman Islands February to April
Bonaire/Curacao/Aruba Anytime (No rainy season)
Bahamas October to May
Belize Spring
Florida Summer
Hawaii Spring to Fall
Honduras (Bay Islands) February to September
(alhough RoatanMan will disagree on this one)
Turks and Caicos January to April
Cozumel Anytime
Saba May to October
Anguilla December to May
Antigua and Barbuda December to August
Barbados April to November
British Virgin Islands October to June

PS RoatanMan what are you doing posting the weather in belize?
:)

[Maya]

I always thought that the rainy season was approx. the same all over the Caribbean..... my husband just called me from St. Thomas...and it's been pouring there for days! I do know that the rainy season in Belize is in the summertime...we hardly ever had rain in the winter/spring, and when we did it was very welcome (filled up the rain barrels!)

[SharkOfBonaire]

sngatlanta once bubbled...
Bonaire/Curacao/Aruba Anytime (No rainy season)
So it's just bad luck that we've been having heavy showers over the past 2 weeks? :D
Bonaire (and the other 2) does have a rainy season, although it's not regular. It rains more from October till March, but not like in the tropics where it rains every day at the same time. Yesterday it rained heavily in the night and the day was cloudy, today it's bright and sunny. Change is good. ;)

[zboss]

I can see St. John out my window it's so close... the rainy season down here means you get a little rains more than usual everyday. We look forward to that because it fills out cisterns.

Yes - there will be some Mosquitoes but nothing that isn't manageable. Also - most of the belongers spray insecticide around and that helps (although it finds its way into the water, and hence the reefs). The greatest things about the VI is the fact that it's windy the majority of days - which makes keeping the bugs away easy, besides they only come out at dusk and dawn.

Don't wear dark clothes - they love that. Get some repellent from REI. Be sure to keep your room swept out - that will get the no-see-ums from being trouble.

[sngatlanta]

You live there and you should know better than I. :drown:

I should have posted ALMOST anytime. From what I understand the average annual rainfall for Bonaire is 22 inches.

Thanks for the insight.

[Frank O]

Interesting comments, thanks to everybody. It sounds like the local climates do vary, and along with them the rainy seasons. Interesting about how different people's impressions of the rainy season on a given island vary.

Shark, don't you consider Bonaire as being in the tropics? It's south of the tropic of cancer, no? I guess given that it's drier there, it's climatologically distinct from most of the Caribbean?

Re Zboss's recommendation of repellent from REI, my dive pro friend also specifically suggested that. I see from the REI website that they carry a number of different types of repellent, both deet-based and natural. Would "REI Jungle Juice" be the stuff that you have in mind?

[SharkOfBonaire]

sngatlanta once bubbled...
I should have posted ALMOST anytime. From what I understand the average annual rainfall for Bonaire is 22 inches.

No worries =-)
In sheer volume, Bonaire averages more rain over the course of a year than Holland. Tell that to a Dutchman and he will think you're nuts; they always whine about the weather (part of the reason I moved down here :mean: ).

[SharkOfBonaire]

Frank O once bubbled...
Shark, don't you consider Bonaire as being in the tropics? It's south of the tropic of cancer, no? I guess given that it's drier there, it's climatologically distinct from most of the Caribbean?

Well, when I think of "the tropics", I envision lush forests and rain every day at noon, high humidity and swarms of mosquitos. With of course the occasional hurricane.

Bonaire is outside of the hurricane belt, which makes it more dry (and arid) but also safer. We have been having a lot more rain over the last week or two and you can see the change on the island; it's become a lot greener. It hadn't rained significantly since oh, April I guess.

Of course, it *is* a tropical island... just a different kind :)