Country Guide

The small island of Barbados is one of the largest, along with Martinique, St Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent, of the Windward Islands. The Windward Islands, making up the southern segment of the Lesser Antilles, lie between 15° N and the coast of the South American continent.

Although still small, the larger islands of the Windward group are hilly or mountainous, and this tends to increase the rainfall above that of the small, flat islands in the group. However Barbados does not rise as high as Martinique or St Lucia, and its climate is less wet than theirs.

The table for Bridgetown shows conditions on the west coast of Barbados, which is somewhat sheltered from the prevailing winds.

All months receive appreciable rain, but the heaviest rain is more likely to occur from July to November. This is the hurricane season and, although the most violent of these tropical storms may only strike a particular island every few years, less severe ones cause appreciable rainfall over quite a wide area.

Temperature, humidity, and sunshine throughout the year are typical of the Caribbean area.