Professor Tuholske's expertise is certainly limited to looking at satellite images. The impact and effects indeed might be what he is portraying (IF you were wearing blinders), but how this actually has occurred (versus his un-scientific explanation of what he calls an "interesting contradiction") shows an obvious political bias, likely based on his California perspective.
In terms of
rain,
the plain, simple fact is that November is by far the rainiest month in Roatan.
Anecdotal evidence, as in, "it was nice when I was there last November", so says Moe, Curley and Marcos, well, here's the facts:
Average Weather For Roatán, Honduras - WeatherSpark
Read that, study the charts, the graphs. The reality and truth? It's pretty obvious.
Again, simple incontrovertible weather facts: On Roatan, sucky weather comes from the North. This sucky stuff appears November through February, pretty predictably. Better conditions, certainly for that period, are to be found on the South side. Less wind, less wave, absolute scientific meteorological fact.
The South side is only appealing to divers. There is no terrestrial distraction to amuse the non-diver. Stay on the South side if you came for a dive vacation. There is also spectacular South side snorkeling, which has the "closest-in" reef structure on the island. It is not for the "casual, umbrella drink, lay on the beach snorkeler". It is, because of it's remoteness, a place where serious naturalist hobbyists show up. In short, do not come to any of the very few South side resorts expecting any topside amusement or diversions.
from Doc Radawski, resident since 1972....
In the very near future, Roatan (and the Bay Islands) will soon evolve into the same grey u/w moonscape as have all of the other Caribbean rocks which are familiar to our SCUBA Magazine readers.
For now, it's still pretty good.
I have been regularly diving the Bay Islands since 1984... 32 years. I have been there every month of the calendar, for extended periods, dove all around that island, done the entirety of the island being towed behind a boat on an aquaplane. The degradation of the reef structure over the last 15 years, no matter which side of the island, has been obvious and exponentially increasing. This experience base causes me to view many "recent expert" comments with a twinge.
Go, dive Roatan now, before it becomes Cayman (underwater) and Coney Island (on land), before Professor Tuholske's warnings inevitably take effect. It doesn't take a college degree to know that we are all crapping in our Caribbean toilet. A few miles away makes no difference.
