Climate: Caribbean

Article Information
Category:	Weather
Content source:	SKYbrary
Content control:	SKYbrary

WX
Tag(s)	Climatic Phenomena

The Climate of the Caribbean

The Caribbean climate is tropical, moderated to a certain extent by the prevailing north-east trade winds. Individual climatic conditions are strongly dependent on elevation. The long rainy season lasts from May to October and the dry season from December to March. Even in the wet season, precipitation varies depending on local topography; for example, the windward side of islands with mountains receive more rain than the leeward side.

Hurricanes

Tropical Revolving Storms have considerable impact on aviation, causing considerable damage to infrastructure and aircraft caught on the ground and a significant hazard to aircraft in flight.

The Hurricane season lasts from June to November and affects most Caribbean islands north of Grenada. Barbados and Trinidad, in the south-east, seldom experience hurricanes. The frequency and severity of storms varies from year to year and may be influenced by other climatic factors such as El Niño/La Niña.

The following map shows the Köppen climate classification for the Caribbean and neighbouring territory. The area affected by Hurricanes is shown in grey:

Map showing areas affected by Hurricanes in the Caribbean

Airports

The following map shows the Köppen climate classification for aerodromes across the Caribbean which are listed on SKYbrary:

Loading map...

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Af:equatorial climate    Am:monsoon climate    Aw:tropical savannah climate

BWh:warm desert climate    Bwk:cold desert climate    Bsh:warm semi-arid climate    Bsk:cold semi-arid climate

Csa:warm Mediterranean climate    Csb:temperate Mediterranean climate

Cwa:humid subtropical climate    Cwb:temperate China climate    Cwc:cool China climate

Cfa:warm oceanic climate/humid subtropical climate    Cfb:temperate oceanic climate    Cfc:cool oceanic climate

Dsa:warm continental climate/Mediterranean continental climate    Dsb:temperate continental climate/Mediterranean continental climate    Dsc:cool continental climate    Dsd:cold continental climate

Dwa:warm continental climate/humid continental climate    Dwb:temperate continental climate/humid continental climate    Dwc:cool continental climate/subarctic climate    Dwd:cold continental climate/subarctic climate

Dfa:warm continental climate/humid continental climate    Dfb:temperate continental climate/humid continental climate    Dfc:cool continental climate/subarctic climate    Dfd:cold continental climate/subarctic climate

ET:tundra climate    EF:ice cap climate

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• Climate
• Tropical Revolving Storm
• Hurricane
• Trade Winds
• El Niño
• La Niña