Antilles’ weather is tropical maritime, with a short rainy season, often tempered by storms and occasionally hurricanes, and relatively constant temperatures with very small differences throughout the year. In actual fact, Antilles – also known as the Netherlands Antilles – is a group of islands nestled in the Caribbean Sea, covering an overall area more than five times the size of Washington, DC.
To best understand the nature of the country – and effectively Antilles’ weather – the islands can be divided into two different groups: Curacao and Bonaire are the leeward of the islands, while St. Martin, St. Eustatius and Saba make up the windward side of the country. The windward islands are by far the best blessed in the precipitation department, receiving an average annual rainfall of 1,000 mm (39 inches) to the 560 mm (22 inches) the leeward islands receive. Remarkably, no permanent rivers run through any of the islands, a fact that obviously influences weather in the Antilles.
Curacao & Bonaire
Composed of coralline limestone, Curacao has little vegetation and consists of low hills of volcanic origin. Despite the fact that Curacao is not part of the hurricane belt, it’s not uncommon for the island to suffer the consequences of the odd hurricane, as Omar did in 2008. The weather in Curacao and Bonaire is of the semi-arid savanna type, remaining warm, dry and sunny throughout the year. While average temperatures reach 27°C, the trade winds that blow through the islands keep temperatures to a much cooler state during the state and the same winds throw a warm blanket over the islands during night time. The period between October to December is generally the wettest time of the year, while the months between January to September are by far the driest.
Sint Maarten
Like the other windward islands Sint Maarten has a warm and humid tropical weather. The rainy season in Sint Maarten starts in June and ends in October, during which the possibilities of a hurricane are greatly increased. Again, because of the nature of Antilles’ weather there is little fluctuation in temperature between different times of the season, with July averaging temperatures around the 30°C mark and January 28°C.
Sint Eustatius
The weather in Sint Eustatius is generally sunny and dry, usually tempered by the trade winds so common in the area. Sint Eustatius’ rainy season runs between June and September, with an average annual rainfall of 1,150m. Situated in the heart of the hurricane routes, the island feels the forces of nature in all their might in the season that begins in August and ends in October.
Saba
Often covered by clouds, thanks to the presence the Mount Scenery – standing at 877 meters, by far the highest peak of the Antilles – Saba’s weather is greatly influenced by the steady breath of north-east trade winds. Temperatures range between 27°C in July and 17°C from December to February, with the dry season beginning running between December and July. Like Sint Eustatius, Saba is also situated along the routes of hurricanes, which leave their devastating effects on the island between August and October.
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