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Caribbean vacations always face the risk of bad weather because of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes that roll through the region between June and November every year.

Cruise ships typically avoid bad weather by steering around it. Stopover visitors who stay at a destination for up to a week or more have a greater risk of experiencing a storm or hurricane, but the odds of avoiding them are still good, even during the peak of the season.

On average, about 12 to 15 storms move through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico each year. But individual destinations avoid most of them because they lie outside of the storms' paths. The year 2008 has had five hurricanes in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center at the National Weather Service.

Most of the activity took place in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. In June, one tropical storm formed. That was Arthur, which had maximum wind speeds of 40 miles per hour.

On average, one tropical storm develops every other year in June. In July, three tropical storms developed, two became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. On average, July has two tropical storms and one becomes a hurricane every other year.

August on average has three tropical storms during the month and two become hurricanes. During September, four tropical storms developed, two became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane.

October saw four tropical storms, none of which became hurricanes. November has less than one storm every other year and has seen one this year. The 2007 season had 14 named storms, of which six became hurricanes. Two hurricanes became major, which is a category three or higher.