dominican republic-north v south

[jeannamacs]

I have read conflicting information about the hurricane seasons on this island. some reports say it is shorter in the south.- some reports state it only lasts until september and others til november. any info from any seasoned travellers would be appreciated. Also any tips on personal preferences for either area? Thanks

[Buenchico]

Statistical data for the north of the island, for the past 60 years, shows tropical storms occurring from any time from mid-August through to the first week in December. All true hurricanes, however, have occurred during September. See the bottom bar chart, here:
http://stormcarib.com/climatology/MDPP_weekly. htm

Given that the Dominican Republic is only a small country and most hurricanes are several hundred miles wide, it's unsurprising that the data for the south of the island is extremely similar to that for the north. Once again, tropical storms have been recorded between mid-August and early December. True hurricanes have been reported between the last week in August and the end of September. See the bottom bar chart here:
http://stormcarib.com/climatology/MDSD_weekly. htm

(NB: Don't be misled by the apparently smaller frequencies on this second bar chart. The scales on the vertical axes of the two charts are different. If both charts were drawn to the same scale, they would look extremely similar).

Chris

[heathfield]

The official Caribbean hurricane season is from the beginning of June to the end of November. As Buenchico says, since hurricanes are so big, nowhere on the island is going to be better off than anywhere else - any difference would depend entirely of the track of the hurricane.

[jno]

despite the existence of an 'official' season, hurricanes sometimes turn up without the proper permits, and sometimes out of season altogether. Last year, which as you will recall was among the very worst on record, some occurred as late as January 2006; and another blustery year is forecast for the current season. No visit in the second half of the year is entirely without risk; but the Caribbean is a big place, and your chances of getting hit are actually pretty small.

[Pomp]

Hurricane season starts on June 1st, and lasts through autumn, so probably to about Oct / Nov, as previously mentioned.

Check out the following website http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ which is the US National Hurricane Centre website.

You can find details of historic storms (see Seasons Archive). Last year was the worst year for hurricanes. The last hurricane to be recorded in 2005 was Hurricane Epsilon which lasted 29th Nov to 8th Dec. Only 5 hurricanes have previously been recorded in December.

I remember hearing somewhere that the expectation is that there will be at least 6 significantly large hurricanes this year. The first hurricane has already gone through the Gulf of Mexico.

[nat_84]

Well im off to Punta Cana in Domincan Republic in September!

Just hope a hurricane doesnt decide to show up then!

[www.des-res.]

Try Peurta Plata in January / February. The best beaches are at Sossua and Cabarete. The town of Puerta plata is delightful and the people are friendly and welcoming. Best three weeks I have spent anywhere.

If you go all inclusive, you will only need to cover the extra like:
Scuba Diving, white water rafting, horse riding, a trip out on the catermeran (if you get lucky, you see whales too). There is the trip to Bacardi island (no too much cocloco)
You may even get time to sit on that fab beach... I want to go back.

If you do want more info I am on [email protected]

[jeannamacs]

Thanks for all the replies, confirmed what i thought- will have a look at the websites. J