Caribbean Hurricane Season - Best and Worst Months to Go

The annual Caribbean hurricane season always increases the risk of a bad vacation because of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes that roll through the region between June and November every year.

Caribbean climate is especially bad in September and October because those months typically have the highest level of storm and hurricane activity each 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. Some destinations have higher risks than others.

On average, about 12 to 15 storms move through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico each year. But individual destinations may avoid most of them because they lie outside of the storms' paths.

The southern ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao lie outside of the hurricane zone, which is why Aruba in particular has higher visits in September and October than most destinations. However, it too experiences bad weather from nearby storms and hurricanes, and occasionally it is directly hit.

In the Atlantic Basin in 2010, a total of 19 named storms formed – tied with 1887 and 1995 for third highest on record, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Of those, 12 became hurricanes – tied with 1969 for second highest on record. Five of those reached major hurricane status of Category 3 or higher.

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.

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.