Between the dry season and the rainy season
The climate is characterized by the alternation of a dry season and a wet rainy season, without great differences in temperature between the two. The dry season lasts from November to April, and as everywhere in the West Indies, it is the tourist period, although the temperatures are the lowest. This high season results in a sharp increase in hotel rates, so be sure to book if you plan to bask in the sun at the beginning of the European winter. This is followed by a rainy period in May, characterized by heavy showers at the end of the day, barely cooling an already hot and humid climate. You can come to Jamaica at this season. The only time to really avoid is the hurricane season during the rainy season, called the wintering, which lasts from June to October. The average annual rainfall is 1,960 mm. The rainy episodes are the most marked in the region of Port Antonio, the wettest of the island. In the south, the climate is particularly dry.
Mild temperatures
The heat is constant, between 26 °C and 34 °C day and night, and whatever the season, the latter being very little marked indeed. This phenomenon is accentuated by global warming. However, mountain gear can be useful on a trip to Jamaica, where temperatures can drop as soon as you climb to higher altitudes. Early morning lows of -10°C have been recorded in the Blue Mountains. Similarly, the South can be very hot and dry, or on the contrary cooler, depending on whether you are by the sea or in the Mandeville region, which is very pleasant for its ambient coolness.
Repeated earthquakes
Located at the contact of the Caribbean plate and the oceanic plate, the West Indies live at the rhythm of the earthquakes caused by the overlapping of these plates. Jamaica is not spared from earthquakes, the most devastating of which was the one that engulfed the city of Port Royal in 1692. In 1907, the capital city was battered by a strong earthquake. More recently, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, whose epicenter was located between southern Cuba and northwestern Jamaica, shook the island on January 28, 2020. It was very strongly felt in Jamaica, buildings shook in Kingston, but it did not cause any damage because it was located in the sea at a depth of 10 km according to the United States Institute of Geophysics (USGS), and above all it did not cause a tsunami
Hurricanes are frequent from June to October
"June too early, July status quo, August let's get ready, September we remember, October everywhere": this is the Jamaican saying about tropical cyclones, more commonly called hurricanes in the North Atlantic. It is from June to October (official season) that cyclones threaten, August being probably the most active month. On average, there are seven hurricanes per season. Many popular beliefs are attached to this climatic phenomenon: too much heat, too long a drought, or a ten-year cycle would condition the appearance of hurricanes. Originating near the coast of Africa at the height of the equatorial belt, the winds move until they reach a zone of low pressure, driven by the force of rotation of the Earth and strengthening as they advance. The winds can reach phenomenal speeds, destroying everything in their path. The amplitude of the cyclone can reach from 90 km to 1 600 km. Despite numerous observations, the behavior of cyclones remains mysterious and it is still difficult to define their trajectory and their power. In Jamaica, the ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) was created in 1980; in the event of an alert, information bulletins are published and relayed by all the media; tourist resorts are equipped, and communities are prepared for possible measures to be taken. There are four levels of alerts
Tropical disturbance: in this stage, frequent during the summer months in the Caribbean, the formation does not present strong winds, but small eddies may occur
Tropical depression: a low pressure system develops and winds reach up to 63 km/h
Tropical storm: strong winds of 63 to 117 km/h accompanied by heavy rain
Cyclone: the low pressure system has intensified and winds exceed 118 km/h (Allen has experienced gusts up to 230 km/h) circulating around an area of calm, known as the "eye of the cyclone". Heavy rains and cyclonic swells (tidal waves) may accompany the phenomenon
The hurricanes that marked Jamaica
The Caribbean zone experiences from two to twenty hurricanes per year. According to legend, the first hurricane recorded in history was the one that Christopher Columbus experienced in 1493. The natives aboard La Pinta invoked the name of their god Hurakan, introducing a new word into the European vocabulary. Named alphabetically by the US Weather Bureau in Washington, these hurricanes now have alternating male and female names, followed by the year of their passage.
Charlie in 1951, considered at the time as the most violent hurricane of the 20th century, hit Kingston and Port Royal and caused the death of more than 150 people. Flora followed in 1960, Edith and David in 1970, Allen in 1980, and especially Gilbert in November 1988: it entered Port Maria Bay, killing 50 people and leaving 500,000 homeless, and devastated the entire island, reserving its worst winds for the capital and the eastern region. Agriculture was severely affected and many plantations destroyed. Then hurricanes Hugo in 1989, Dean, in 2007, to name only the most deadly ... have plunged the country into mourning. More recently we will remember : Sandy in 2012 (one victim and 74 million euros of damage). Jamaica was lucky to be spared by Irma and Maria which hit the French West Indies hard in 2017. In 2021, Hurricane Grace hit Jamaica hard and caused 170 million dollars of damage according to the Prime Minister, Andrew Holness.
