Jamaica / Weather

Jamaica has a tropical maritime climate, which means that it is always warm, the sun shines most of the time and there are generally sea breezes to take the edge off the heat, but as a large island with extremely varied terrain it is possible to see differences in the weather, even within a few miles sometimes. The mountains of the North East, the John Crow Mountains in Portland and the Blue Mountains above Kingston, are by far the wettest area (with over 200 inches per year usually). But as you head farther west you find that the frequency of rainfall is much lower, particularly on the coasts. It can still be wet anywhere, with passing tropical showers like upturned buckets, but there are places that look like savannah and others where cacti thrive. Jamaica’s mountains are as high as 7000 feet and the temperatures can be colder at altitude. 

Average temperatures range from 19C/66F to 32C/99F, though they can fall as low as 10C/50F in the interior, particularly at altitude. The coolest times of the year are between December and April, when a light sweater/jacket is suggested for evenings. 

There is often a light wind off the sea, usually from the North East, which tempers the heat by day, but a still day in either winter or summer can become very hot, and particularly in the summer months, Jamaica can also become quite humid. The island is also large enough to create its own on- and offshore breezes - the Doctor’s Breeze and the Undertaker’s Breeze - which are generated in the mornings and evenings as the landmass heats by day and cools at night, surrounded by water that stays at the same temperature. 

Jamaica has two rainy seasons, one in May and another from October into November. These may increase cloud-cover a little, but usually it just means heavier rainstorms in the afternoons (after which the sun comes out again). Jamaica is also in the path of Atlantic hurricanes. The season, which can start as early as July, lasts through August and into September, which is the most likely month for a hurricane. The hurricane season was generally considered to have finished in October, but with changes in the weather recently there have been some hurricanes later in the year.