WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS
Rain or shine, it’s always a beautiful day on Roatan
September on Roatan is hot. Nothing new.
In fact, historically it is the hottest month on the island. But really, who cares? We are surrounded by the crystal-clear Caribbean Sea and a cooling dip is always just a few steps away.
Weather is, not surprisingly, a big topic of conversation to many people whether just visiting or living on a Caribbean island.
I once received an email enquiry from a real estate client asking if it was going to rain on Christmas Day. The email arrived in August. Tough one to answer sincerely and with a straight face… but I finally responded with… “Probably not.”
Roatan has historical weather patterns but they vary from year to year. Our so called “rainy season” that is supposed to happen between October and January, never appeared last year. But the year before… it lasted for five months!
I know this probably sounds funny… but those of us who live on the island, love rainy season… as long as it does not last too long! It’s our “winter” and we get to pull out our sweatshirts, long pants or in the case of my wife, her Uggs and sexy jeans!
During a rainy “norther” storm, I love being at Land’s End, watching the waves crash on the iron shore. Quite different compared to our normal calm seas.
And after spending time in a tropical climate, you acclimate to the point that 60 degrees Fahrenheit is freezing!
Just this morning a Facebook friend from the island posted a picture of herself in her native Australia… watching TV in her parents’ living room. She was bundled up like an Eskimo from Nanook of the North!
A few years ago, my wife and I visited Italy for Christmas. It was so cold, seriously… I did not think I was going to survive.
One of the deciding factors for relocating to a Caribbean island is the climate, of course. One other huge consideration for choosing Roatan is that we are not in the typical hurricane path.
The last major hurricane in the Bay Islands was Mitch in 1998. It did not damage Roatan very much but devastated our sister island Guanaja and the mainland. Since then, nothing. One came close last year but as they normally do, the storm turned north leaving us with light winds and rain.
If you are not sure where Roatan is… we are tucked into the far western Caribbean just 30 miles off the coast which seems to protect us from increasingly stronger storms.
So when is the best time to visit Roatan?
Good question. We have a traditional high and low season though the high is getting longer and the low shorter. High season, say November to May can be busy here, where June to October quite a bit slower.
Personally, as an ex pat, I prefer low or as most businesses call it slow season because it is slow! Deserted beaches, uncrowded restaurants and less traffic.
But the truth is, no one can predict the weather on Roatan.
You can check all the sites and apps you want but I can’t tell you how many times my phone says it is raining on Roatan… and there is not a cloud in the sky. That being said, it often happens that it is pouring mid island and bright sunshine in the west!
I have even seen it pour rain with bright sunshine at the same time!
The bottom line is, as with any vacation, come whenever you can, because even if it is raining, there is still plenty to do. But pack a light raincoat just in case.
Oh, and by the way, it did rain that Christmas Day—oh well, I tried!
Sign up for our weekly blog!
