Geography of The Bahamas - Climate

Climate

The climate of the archipelago is semitropical and has two seasons, summer and winter. During the spring, which extends from May through November, the climate is dominated by warm, moist tropical air masses moving north through the Caribbean. Midsummer temperatures range from 74 to 89 °F (23.3 to 31.7 °C) with a relative humidity of 60 to 100%. In winter months, extending from December through April, the climate is affected by the movement of cold polar masses from North America. Temperatures during the winter months range from 62 to 77 °F (16.7 to 25 °C).

While there has never been a freeze reported in the Bahamas, the temperature can fall to 37 °F (2.8 °C) during Arctic outbreaks that affect nearby Florida. Snow has been reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January 1977, the same time that it snowed in the Miami area. The temperature was about 41 °F (5 °C) at the time.

Yearly rainfall averages 55.7 inches (1,410 mm) and is usually concentrated in the May–June and August–October periods. Rainfall often occurs in short-lived, fairly intense showers accompanied by strong gusty winds, which are then followed by clear skies.

Winds are predominantly easterly throughout the year but tend to become northeasterly from October to April and southeasterly from May to September. These winds seldom exceed twenty-four kilometers per hour except during hurricane season. Although the hurricane season officially lasts from June to November, most hurricanes in the Bahamas occur between July and October. Before a long lull in activity which ended in the 1990s, the last one to strike was Hurricane David in September 1979. Damage was estimated at US$1.8 million and mainly affected agricultural products. The most intense twentieth-century hurricane to strike the Bahamas was the 1929 Bahamas hurricane; winds of up to 140 miles per hour (230 km/h) were recorded. Many lives were lost, and there was extensive damage to buildings, homes, and boats.