The Climate of
British Virgin Islands
View from Fort Charlotte, Tortola
What is the climate of the British Virgin Islands like?
The British Virgin Islands are a British Overseas Territory located to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. There are roughly fifty islands and islets. Of the three main islands, Tortola and Virgin Gorda are mountainous, whereas Anegada is flat.
The climate of the British Virgin Islands is tropical. Temperatures are fairly constant, ranging from 20° to 31°C (68–87°F) and an average temperature of 25°C (77°F), but moderated by the trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
Near sea-level the annual rainfall is about 1,250 millimeters (50 inches), well distributed throughout the year, with a wetter season from May to November. The rain falls in short, heavy showers. Rainfall increases at higher elevations and on the windward slopes exposed to the moist trade winds. The trade winds are constant, blowing from the northeast in winter and from the southeast in summer.
The Virgin Islands lie in the track of violent tropical hurricanes which are most likely to develop between August and October. Although the severest of these storms may only strike once every few years, these are always the months of heaviest rainfall.
| Climate data for Virgin Gorda | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 26 (79) | 27 (80) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 29 (85) | 30 (86) | 31 (87) | 31 (87) | 30 (86) | 29 (85) | 28 (82) | 27 (80) | 29 (84) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 27 (81) | 27 (81) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 25.2 (77.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20 (68) | 19 (67) | 20 (68) | 21 (69) | 22 (71) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 22 (71) | 21 (69) | 22 (71) |
| Average percipitation mm (inches) | 74 (2.92) | 63 (2.49) | 55 (2.18) | 85 (3.33) | 117 (4.59) | 71 (2.78) | 83 (3.27) | 110 (4.4) | 156 (6.14) | 133 (5.25) | 179 (7.04) | 110 (4.4) | 1,236 (48.79) |
| Source: Intellicast | |||||||||||||
References
- E. A. Pearce, Charles Gordon Smith, (1990) The Hutchinson World Weather Guide, John Murray Press. ISBN 1859863426
- Timothy L. Gall, (ed.), (2003), Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Eleventh Edition, Thomson Gale
- Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, (1989) Islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean; A Regional Study, United States Government Printing Office.
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of the
British Virgin Islands
In summary:
The climate is subtropical, with temperatures ranging from 20° to 30°C (68–86°F).
Near sea-level the annual rainfall is about 1,250 millimeters (50 inches), well distributed throughout the year.