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marine weather patterns / seasons
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bigyellowtuna
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:42 am
marine weather patterns / seasons
Does St John have seasons when it comes to wind / wave conditions, and if so, what are they? I.E. are there months during which seas are reliably calm and conducive to snorkeling anywhere on the island vs months that are windy and have bigger waves that make some spots off limits for snorkeling? Thanks in advance.
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
Hello
There are several weather experts and some STT/STJ residents on the forum, so hopefully they will chime in with their knowledge. I thought I would give my 2 cents based on our trips and reading others' trip reports over the years, and noting the weather in the various months.
I've only been to St John and the BVIs in April, May or June. For the most part, those months have been great weather, water is warm and calm. We spend hours every day snorkeling, so calm warm water is a must for us
One year, in April we had a solid week of rain and cooler weather (ugh!). I recall that forumite Pia said there is usually a week or two of rain in either April or May every year. In 2012, we went the middle two weeks of May and had a few rain storms, but fabulous weather the rest of the time. Five years ago, we went the last week of April and first week of May, and had dry, sunny weather with calm water every day. It was great.
In the winter months, there is a weather condition called Christmas winds - you can google it to get more info. It can cause windy conditions and waves, especially on the north shore. People who have been on island during these times have posted pictures of Trunk Bay and other beaches with big waves. I remember one trip report said several people were injured going into the water, due to the intensity of the waves. There are beaches on the other side of the island, (Salt Pond, Little Lameshur) which are protected and still calm for snorkeling, even when the waves are high on the north shore. One year we went to the BVIs in late April and had the big waves. Locals said it was unusual for that time of year, but had happened in the past.
People who go in the summer and fall talk about warm, calm water, but it sounds its a bit warmer and more humid. We've talked about going in October some year. If there are no hurricanes, the weather seems great.
If you have time, I would suggest reading some of the great trip reports on the forum, as people often comment on weather, water temperature and snorkeling.
Happy trip planning
There are several weather experts and some STT/STJ residents on the forum, so hopefully they will chime in with their knowledge. I thought I would give my 2 cents based on our trips and reading others' trip reports over the years, and noting the weather in the various months.
I've only been to St John and the BVIs in April, May or June. For the most part, those months have been great weather, water is warm and calm. We spend hours every day snorkeling, so calm warm water is a must for us
One year, in April we had a solid week of rain and cooler weather (ugh!). I recall that forumite Pia said there is usually a week or two of rain in either April or May every year. In 2012, we went the middle two weeks of May and had a few rain storms, but fabulous weather the rest of the time. Five years ago, we went the last week of April and first week of May, and had dry, sunny weather with calm water every day. It was great.
In the winter months, there is a weather condition called Christmas winds - you can google it to get more info. It can cause windy conditions and waves, especially on the north shore. People who have been on island during these times have posted pictures of Trunk Bay and other beaches with big waves. I remember one trip report said several people were injured going into the water, due to the intensity of the waves. There are beaches on the other side of the island, (Salt Pond, Little Lameshur) which are protected and still calm for snorkeling, even when the waves are high on the north shore. One year we went to the BVIs in late April and had the big waves. Locals said it was unusual for that time of year, but had happened in the past.
People who go in the summer and fall talk about warm, calm water, but it sounds its a bit warmer and more humid. We've talked about going in October some year. If there are no hurricanes, the weather seems great.
If you have time, I would suggest reading some of the great trip reports on the forum, as people often comment on weather, water temperature and snorkeling.
Happy trip planning
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
Here's a little information on Christmas winds and swells: http://www.vinow.com/wwwtalk/read.php?4,83042,83042
And here's a link to some information about a summertime phenomenon - Sahara dust: http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_j ... -john.html
If the swells interfere with North shore activities, you can pursue them on the South shore, at Lameshur, Salt Pond, Vie's, Haulover, etc.
And here's a link to some information about a summertime phenomenon - Sahara dust: http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_j ... -john.html
If the swells interfere with North shore activities, you can pursue them on the South shore, at Lameshur, Salt Pond, Vie's, Haulover, etc.
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
I've only been there in March April or May and other than some short cloud bursts every day during the trip in May, I've noticed no difference. This year will be the first trip in August and We're hoping the hurricanes stay away
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Teresa_Rae
- Posts: 2053
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
The water is warmest and most calm in the late summer/early fall.
The water temp gets noticeably cooler by late fall/early winter, and there are waves then too.
The water temp gets noticeably cooler by late fall/early winter, and there are waves then too.
Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
- Mark Twain
- Mark Twain
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
Ok, for my 2 cents...I have been both in February (regularly since 1996) and October (every couple of years). For us February is perfect; warm days and warm nights and not really a lot of rain; October seems much hotter and back in 2007 it rained from Wednesday thru to Saturday when we left. That was a complete bummer. We find the water warm in both months...but hey, when you leave COLD weather in February anything feels good - don't you agree?
Re: marine weather patterns / seasons
Our trips have all been in early summer...from mid-June to early July. One year was quite rainy, but still had some sun every day. North shore beaches have been totally flat water conditions and very warm water (which we love). In the winter months you could get north swells that occur from time to time on these same beaches creating waves. In the summer, the swells sometimes kick up from the south, but will only affect some of the southern exposed beaches and bays.
KT
