One month down – 5 more to go! So now that we are officially one month into the Hurricane Season 2013 here we bring you a tropical weather update for the Dominican Republic.
According to weather.com, “June and July account for only 14 percent of the Atlantic hurricane season’s named storms”, and in fact the occurrence of Major hurricanes in July is extremely rare – with only 5 Major hurricanes formed in July since 1950.
As far as the Dominican Republic is concerned, no hurricanes (at least since 1894) have ever affected the country in June or July. In fact it is very rare for the Dominican Republic to be affected by any type of Tropical Weather (Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm or Hurricane) before mid-August. Over the last 10 years, the earliest the Dominican Republic was affected was by Tropical Storm Ana who was active from August 11th – 16th, 2009.
UPDATE, Monday August 8th: Well despite it being extremely rare for any kind of Tropical Weather to blow our way in July… Murphy’s Law strikes and guess what – Tropical Storm Chantal is heading our way and expected to start affecting the Dominican Republic as early as tomorrow (Tuesday). Typical.
So how is Hurricane Season 2013 progressing? And what can we in the Dominican Republic expect during July, as well as over the coming months?
Hurricane season 2013 – so far
On May 23rd, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its Atlantic Hurricane Season 2013 predictions; 13-20 Named Storms with 7-11 Hurricanes and 3-6 Major Hurricanes.
Thus far there have been 4 named storms; Tropical Storm Andrea, Tropical Storm Barry, Hurricane Cosme, Tropical Storm Erik and Hurricane Dalia, none of which affected the Dominican Republic at all.
Here in the Dominican Republic, however, we’ve had rather a lot of rain – I’m sure you may have noticed.
What to expect in July in the Dominican Republic?
Historically July is known as a “quiet” month during hurricane season. For many reasons;”cold fronts” from Africa – the “seeds” of Tropical disturbances are not likely to reach the tropics and water temperatures have not yet peaked, July typically only brings on average of one named storm – which is extremely unlikely to affect the Dominican Republic at all.
So while we shouldn’t be seeing any Tropical Depressions, Tropical Storms or Hurricanes here in the Dominican Republic yet, July has a monthly average rainfall of 5.7 inches. On a typical day, you may enjoy the sun throughout the morning before it clouds over about midday and the heavens open – fortunately just for a brief (yet rather heavy) shower, before the sky clears again in the evening.
July is also when temperatures reach a peak in the Dominican Republic. Throughout July, August and September the monthly average temperature is 81°F.
All in all not a bad time here in the Dominican Republic! We hope you have a wonderful July! 🙂
Get ready!
Remember August and September are the “peak” hurricane months in the Dominican Republic – so although the Dominican Republic is very rarely affected by a “direct hit”, now is a great time to make sure you are ready just in case.
On Friday the 24th of August 2012, the center of Tropical Storm Isaac passed approximately 150 miles to the south of the Dominican Republic, causing a storm surge of up to 5ft along the eastern coast of the country, which in Casa de Campo brought huge waves crashing into oceanside properties, the Teeth of the Dog golf course, Minitas Beach and the Marina Casa de Campo.
Spanish
