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The Weather in the Dominican Republic.
Weather in the Dominican Republic varies very slightly throughout the year. The
Dominican Republic enjoys a year round privileged tropical maritime climate. Sea
breezes refresh the insular territory evening out temperatures to average 23ªC
in the early mornings and 32ªC at noon, all year round. The lowest temperatures
occur in the mountain areas near Constanza and the Cordillera Central mountain
range (Valle Nuevo and Pico Duarte), where temperatures below freezing point
have been registered, though record highs have been registered at the frontier
with Haiti, at 39ªC in the summer. But even in the mountain cities, like
Jarabacoa and Constanza, the average temperature ranges from 18-28C (66-84F).
Unless there is a rare tropical wave or storm in the vicinity, the 300+ day
forecast for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, in general, is ''partly
sunny or partly cloudy with a possibility of a brief shower,'' with temperatures
around 26-27C (80-84F) all year.
May through November is regarded as the “rainy season.” It rains more frequently
on the North Coast than in the South, and the East Coast is the driest. Only
very occasionally will a storm be passing by that will bring more than an
afternoon of rain. The most common forecast is: partly cloudy with a chance of
short showers. The El Niño and El Niña currents bring longer periods of drought
and rain.
December through April are the “cooler” months, when the temperature may descend
to 18C (66F) on February mornings. Noon temperatures on those same days are
usually up to 28C (83F). March through April are the breezy months, time for
flying kites. May through June is historically the wettest time of the year, but
the El Niño and La Niña phenomena have altered these patterns. The most common
weather forecast nationwide continues to be “partly cloudy or partly sunny with
a chance of a short shower.” Note that it is more likely to rain in the
afternoons than in the mornings.
August through September is the peak of the hurricane season for the Caribbean.
Caribbean hurricanes in June and July are rare because the waters are not warm
enough to generate the appropriate conditions for strong storms to develop.
The hurricane season lasts from June through November, with August-September
being the peak months. Hurricanes are rare events. Historically, big hurricanes
have been widely spaced out through the years, and for the most part have hit
the less populated southwestern and western coasts of the Dominican Republic.
The USA Today newspaper mentions the DR as having a lower possibility of being
affected by a hurricane than Antigua, Jamaica, Bahamas, U.S. Virgin Islands or
Puerto Rico.
August and September are also the two hottest months of the year, with
temperatures peaking at 32-34C (90-94F).
October through November used to be the wettest months of the year, but weather
patterns have changed this. Rainstorms in the Caribbean are not like rainstorms
in northern latitudes. In the Caribbean, they usually last less than five
minutes and then the sun shines again. While many Dominican pedestrians have
their umbrellas, Dominicans do not own raincoats, they just step under an over
hang, and wait for the rain to pass.
Take note that most of the rain occurs at sunrise, late in the afternoon or at
night. Unless there is a cold front in the area, the average temperature
island-wide will be around 80-82F (26-27C), and the weather changes only
slightly from season to season in the DR. Also, average year round temperature
on the coasts ranges from 25-34C (77-93F).
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