|
The climate of the Bahamas
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is an archipelago consisting of 700
islands situated south east of the American state of Florida. The
Bahamas archipelago is an independent state. The Bahamas have a
savannah climate, type Aw according to the Köppen-Geiger climate
classification. During the winter the climate is strongly influenced
by the warming effect of the Atlantic Ocean, which makes it very
pleasant to stay on these tropical islands during the winter. As a
tourist destination the Bahamas are one of the most popular in the
Caribbean. The Bahamas are very popular among Americans. Many cruise
lines make a stop-over in the Bahamas, especially when they depart
from Miami or Fort Lauderdale. The Bahamas are in the fourth position
of most visited countries in the Caribbean after Puerto Rico, Mexico
(Yucatan) and the Dominican Republic. Over 80% of the tourists come
from the United States.
Climate information of places and areas in the Bahamas
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific
information about weather and climate can be found on the climate
pages per area or town. As for Bahamas the following climate
information is available:
Hurricanes
The Bahamas are situated in an area with high hurricane activity. This
doesn’t mean the islands get hit by a hurricane on a daily basis.
However, there is a risk of an active hurricane hitting the Bahamas
during hurricane season from the beginning of June till the beginning
of December. When there is a hurricane, tropical storm or tropical
depression it may be the case that one or several islands get hit
while other islands have perfectly sunny weather. Because the islands
are spread out over an area of 1,000 by 300 kilometers it is quite
possible to come across different types of weather at the same time.
Most hurricanes come from a south easterly direction. However, they
may come from a southerly direction after the direction has changed.
Whoever wants to book a holiday to the Bahamas should not worry too
much about hurricanes. Hotels are designed to withstand hurricanes.
There even are some hotels that don’t charge you for your stay during
a hurricane.
Summer in the Bahamas
Summers in the Bahamas are warm , humid and reasonably sunny. During
the day temperatures are around 30 degrees Celsius. Night time
temperatures are between 23-26 degrees Celsius. The summer is the
wetter season in the Bahamas. However, the Bahamas do not get enough
rain to call it a wet season. Most of the rain falls in the form of
showers that may be very heavy. When a tropical storm, tropical
depression or hurricane hits the Bahamas the amount of rainfall may
rise as high as the normal average for one month. During a hurricane
hundreds of millimeters of rain may fall within 24 hours. The highest
amount on record was during hurricane Noel (all hurricanes in this
area are given names) in 2007. During this hurricane as much as 747.5
millimeters of rain fell on Long Island. This is a very extreme case
though. Normally about 50-150 millimeters of rain falls during a
hurricane.
Winter
Winters in the Bahamas are pleasantly warm. In fact, the climate is
almost always springlike if not summery. During the day temperatures
are between 22-27 degrees Celsius. Night time temperatures are between
15-20 degrees Celsius on average. Because of this it is a sensible
thing to bring a sweater, cardigan or summer jacket. During the
evening it may get fresh, especially along the coast. Because winters
are sunny and dry the Bahamas are an ideal winter sun destination.
However, pleasant weather is not guaranteed. When a cold current comes
from the north it may be colder for several days in a row. When this
is the case it is too cold to lie on the beach or beside the pool.
These usually short lived periods of cooler weather are an excellent
excuse to visit Miami. When you stay on Grand Bahama or one of the
other western islands Miami is only half an hour away by plane.
Snow and frost
Subzero temperatures never occur on the Bahamas. The elements needed
for subzero temperatures just do not occur here. During Arctic
outbreaks that supply very cold polar air temperatures may drop to a
few degrees above freezing point. In January 1997 it even snowed in
Freeport. Snowflakes mixed with rain fell out of the sky at a
temperature of 5 degrees Celsius. So, though rare, it may occur.
Precipitation
The subtropical climate of the Bahamas is responsible for reasonable
amounts of precipitation. Most of the precipitation falls during the
period from May till October. Depending on the location you are in the
long-term records are between 1,000-1,500 millimeters of rain on
average. During wet years with high hurricane activity an amount of
2,000 millimeters of rain may even be recorded locally. This is the
same as 2,000 liters of water per square meter.
UV-index
The Bahamas have a high UV-index. A large part of the year the highest
figure can be recorded (UV-index 11). It is not sensible to go into
the sunshine without protection, unless it is a short period of time
(10-15min) All year round a sun block with a minimum factor of 30 can
be advised. Even for people that don’t get sunburn fast. During the
winter the UV-index is a lot lower; UV-index 5-7. At these figures you
will still have to apply sunscreen, but the UV-index is much less
dangerous than during the summer.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records. They are an average for the Bahamas. Please note that local
deviations may occur, especially in the field of precipitation:
More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of
the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time.
How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can
often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate
information per month. The information below is an average for the
Bahamas. Please, note that the interior gets less sunshine and more
rain.
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
|
this site in Dutch
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
