Climate Dominican Republic
Like its Caribbean neighbours, the Dominican Republic has a humid subtropical climate, tempered at altitude. Hispaniola being located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, the winds of the seaside and the trade winds of the North-East soften the heat pleasantly, so that it is seldom stifling. Sharing the same hemisphere as Europe, the climatic variations to which the Dominican Republic is subjected are quite similar... with 15°C more! The average temperature is 25°C with small variations throughout the year, while the water temperature is pleasant in all seasons, oscillating between 26 and 27°C in winter, 29 and 31°C in summer. In spite of this warmth, the Dominican year is punctuated by two rainy periods per year, one of which corresponds to the hurricane season. Small climatic portrait of the two eastern thirds of the island.
The Dominican seasons
In the Dominican Republic, we distinguish between a summer season, the so-called wet season, which generally runs from May to September, and a winter season, the dry season. During the summer season, maximum temperatures are generally reached in August, with a peak approaching 35°C, while the "coolest" month is January, at the heart of the dry season, with temperatures stagnating at around 20°C. However, these variations remain fairly subtle, with the thermometer showing an average temperature of around 25°C all year round, made quite pleasant by the trade winds, cool winds from the north-east.
Another factor to bear in mind is the high humidity that prevails at these latitudes. Air humidity ranges from 65% to 80%. While the western part of the country, and more specifically the northwest coast, is particularly dry, the eastern part of the Dominican Republic is much wetter. As the country is crossed by three mountain ranges, differences in altitude result in significant variations in temperature, which can even, exceptionally, reach negative values in the mountains, particularly above 3,000 meters.
The last climatic phenomenon to be taken into account here is the rainy season, of which there are two in the Dominican Republic: one, more pronounced, runs from early summer (i.e., May) through July and sometimes into August, while the other, more discreet, generally stretches from October to December. This second rainy season, characterized by beautiful sunny days punctuated by heavy showers at the end of the day, corresponds more or less to the hurricane season in the Caribbean.
From a tourist point of view, two seasons are popular: mid-December to March and July to August, with a clear preference for the former. The Holy Week before Easter is also very popular. Naturally, hotel and car rental rates take this into account. In the off-season, on the other hand, rates can be reduced by around 20-25%. And you can negotiate! Other events not to be overlooked: Carnival (February 27), Semana Santa (April) and the grand procession for the feast of the Virgin of Altagracia, spiritual mother of the Dominican people, which takes place in Higüey on January 21.
David, George, Jane, Christmas, Irma..
Beautiful names for violent and sometimes deadly phenomena... The island lies at the crossroads of the cyclones that come from the Atlantic and the Caribbean arc and threaten the entire Caribbean zone between July and October, the so-called cyclonic period. Hurakan, the Guatemalan god, gave his name to a phenomenon with which the natives were familiar. Christopher Columbus himself suffered the consequences of a hurricane on his first voyage home in February 1493. It was the first recorded cyclone in history, a Greek term meaning "snake coil" first used in 1876 by Henry Paddington, then President of the Calcutta Maritime Court. As for the naming of the cyclones themselves, it was the US Weather Bureau in Washington who decided that they would be named alternately masculine and feminine according to their order of formation and in alphabetical order. In this way, Charlie succeeds Betty, preceded by Allen. The Caribbean zone experiences between two and twenty cyclones each year, with an average of seven events per cyclone period. The Dominican Republic has not been spared by cyclones, having been devastated twice: first by David in 1970, then by Georges in October 1998. The impressive Hurricane Irma of September 2017 did not cause too much damage in the Dominican Republic, unlike some neighboring islands in the West Indies.
Cyclone formation begins with the appearance of winds in the equatorial belt, close to the African coast. Carried along by the Earth's rotational force, the winds reach a low-pressure zone and become more virulent as they advance. They can reach speeds in excess of 250 km/h and a range of 90 to 1,600 km. In the eye of the cyclone, at the center of the low-pressure area, it's absolutely calm. Outside the eye, however, rain, waves and tides can take on gigantic proportions... The National Hurricane Center in Miami monitors each windy formation using radar, satellites and aircraft. At the slightest alert, the center warns the entire Caribbean zone. However, despite all scientific efforts, the cyclone phenomenon remains mysterious and impossible to predict. This is why their progress is monitored in real time, and measures are taken as they evolve.
The phenomenon comprises several rigorously classified stages. The tropical disturbance is the first phase: if the winds are not violent, small whirlwinds can occur, as well as heavy showers. In the Caribbean, this type of phenomenon is frequent during the summer months. During a tropical depression, the low-pressure system has developed sufficiently for winds to reach speeds of up to 63 km/h, accompanied by heavy rain. The next stage is called a tropical storm: like the rains, the winds become more violent, with speeds of between 63 and 117 km/h. The final stage is the cyclone. At this stage, winds exceed 118 km/h (Allen reached 230 km/h; Irma 297 km/h, with gusts to 360 km/h!). Torrential rains and tidal waves accompany the phenomenon. In the event of a hurricane warning, you should be aware that preventive measures are well in hand at hotels and tourist sites. Past cyclones include Georges, which ravaged part of the island in October 1998, Noël in 2007 and Hurricane Fiona in 2022, which caused widespread flooding, power cuts and temporary displacement of the population.
