Country Guide

The islands that make up this overseas département of France are the most southerly of the Leeward Islands, the northerly islands of the Lesser Antilles.

Temperature and humidity around the year in the Leeward Islands are very similar to those described in general for the Caribbean, as are the amount and distribution of sunshine.

The tables for Roseau on Dominica and Plymouth on Montserrat, show that, near sea level and on the low-lying islands, the annual rainfall in the Leeward Islands is about 1,250-2,000 mm/50-80 in, well distributed throughout the year, with a wetter season from July to November.

The table for Camp Jacob in the interior of the island of Guadeloupe, at an altitude of 530 m/1,750 ft, shows that rainfall increases on the more mountainous of the Leeward Islands and on the windward slopes exposed to the constant and moist northeast trade winds.

Guadeloupe lies in the track of violent tropical hurricanes, which are most likely to develop between August and October. The severest of these storms may only strike Guadeloupe every few years but the appreciable rainfall they, and less violent disturbances, bring to a wider area accounts for the heavier rainfall during these months.