Jamaica Travel Weather

What's the Weather Like When Traveling to Jamaica?

Jamaica is a popular tourist destination with travelers visiting, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and many private resorts locations. Jamaica is a mountainous country with some peaks above 7500 feet. Rainfall may approach 200 inches in a year. Most resort locations are at much lower elevations or near the Caribbean Sea and receive much less rainfall. Jamaica is in the hurricane belt and has the potential to be affected by strong tropical cyclones. It is rare for any small island to receive a direct hit from a hurricane. It is more common to experience fringe effects such as sea swell, some gusty winds, and heavy rain. The most likely time to find a hurricane in the central Caribbean, especially stronger ones, would be from August into early October. Monitor the tropical weather conditions when visiting during this time of year.

Jamaica Rainfall
The wet season in Jamaica is a little over six months long. It runs from June through October or into November. Rainfall on the order of three to four inches is common each month. It is the result of tropical waves passing through the Caribbean every several days. October is by far the wettest month with an average of seven inches of rain. The dry season starts sometime during November and last through April. Generally, only about one inch of rainfall occurs each month. During this time of year, weakening cold fronts from North America bring some showers.

Jamaica Temperatures
Jamaica's temperatures are warm to hot and quite uniform all year long. The warmest temperatures occur during the summer months with daytime highs near 90 degrees. During the rest of the year high temperatures are in the mid to upper 80's. Morning lows are in the upper 70's during the summer and mid 70's the rest of the year.

Jamaica Travel Weather Summary
Jamaica has pleasant weather throughout the year. For travelers wishing to avoid rain, the best time of year to travel to Jamaica would be the winter and most of the spring. Tropical cyclones almost never occur during this time period either.

Kingston Sunrise and Sunset Times

(All times are for the first day of each month)
Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Sunrise 6:38 6:39 6:25 6:01 5:40 5:30 5:35 5:45 5:52 5:58 6:06 6:22
Sunset 5:43 6:01 6:13 6:20 6:28 6:39 6:46 6:41 6:20 5:55 5:34 5:30
Jamaica travel weather quick summary
  • Jamaica travel weather - June, July, August, September
  • Jamaica travel weather - January, February, March
  • Jamaica travel weather - October
  • Jamaica travel weather - January, February, March

Kingston Climatology

Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Average High 88 88 88 89 89 91 92 92 91 90 89 89
Average Low 73 73 74 76 77 79 79 79 78 77 76 74
Average Rainfall (In.) 0.57" 0.35" 0.98" 1.10" 3.88" 2.57" 2.20" 4.02" 7.27" 6.37" 3.48" 1.61"

Climatology data provided by NOAA - NCEI / WMO

Jamaica Travel Weather Resources:


Jamaica Webcam


Back to the Caribbean Travel Articles page.