The Climate of the
United States Virgin Islands
Charlotte Amalie Historic District
What is the climate of United States Virgin Islands like?
The United States Virgin Islands lie east of Puerto Rico and west of the British Virgin Islands. The island group extends across 80 kilometers (50 miles). Only three of the more than 50 islands and cays are of significant size. St. Croix is relatively flat, St. Thomas and St. John are mountainous.
The climate is subtropical, with temperatures ranging from 21° to 32°C (70 to 90°F) and an average temperature of 27°C (82°F), but moderated by northeast trade winds.
Near sea-level the annual rainfall is about 1,250 millimeters (50 inches), well distributed throughout the year, with a wetter season from July to November. Rainfall increases at higher elevations and on the windward slopes exposed to the constant and moist northeast trade winds. 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 Charlotte Amalie (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 84.1 (28.9) | 84.3 (29.1) | 84.5 (29.2) | 85.7 (29.8) | 87.2 (30.7) | 88.9 (31.6) | 89.7 (32.1) | 89.8 (32.1) | 89.2 (31.8) | 88.4 (31.3) | 86.6 (30.3) | 85.2 (29.6) | 87.0 (30.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 78.8 (26.0) | 78.9 (26.1) | 79.1 (26.2) | 80.6 (27.0) | 82.3 (27.9) | 84.1 (28.9) | 84.5 (29.2) | 84.7 (29.3) | 84.4 (29.1) | 83.3 (28.5) | 81.6 (27.6) | 80.1 (26.7) | 81.9 (27.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 73.6 (23.1) | 73.5 (23.1) | 73.8 (23.2) | 75.5 (24.2) | 77.5 (25.3) | 79.3 (26.3) | 79.3 (26.3) | 79.6 (26.4) | 79.5 (26.4) | 78.3 (25.7) | 76.6 (24.8) | 74.9 (23.8) | 76.8 (24.9) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.64 (67) | 1.90 (48) | 1.86 (47) | 2.24 (57) | 3.02 (77) | 2.35 (60) | 2.91 (74) | 4.37 (111) | 5.89 (150) | 5.28 (134) | 6.06 (154) | 2.93 (74) | 41.45 (1,053) |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
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
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of the
United States Virgin Islands
In summary:
The climate is subtropical, with temperatures ranging from 21° to 32°C (70–90°F).
Near sea-level the annual rainfall is about 1,250 millimeters (50 inches), well distributed throughout the year.