Bahamas-WeatherBahamas-Weather can be as awe inspiring and fantastic as anywhere in the world. In general the Bahamian Islands has a subtropical maritime climate. In the winter cold fronts that sweep down from the north across the mid west into Georgia and Florida flow off the coast and continue into the northern islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco bringing cool windy conditions. These fronts generally die out before reaching Nassau and the more southern islands.
The weather on New Providence, the island where Nassau is located the temperature in the winter rarely dips below 60 degrees and is usually around a pleasant 75 degrees during the day. The northern islands are a few degrees cooler and the southern islands are about 5 degrees warmer in the winter. In summer temperatures tend to be similar throughout the islands. Here is a chart showing monthly average high and low temperatures for Nassau, New Providence.
January......77.7 / 63.2
February.....77.9 / 63.2
March........79.9 / 64.3 April..........82.2 / 67.2
May..........85.4 / 70.6 June...........87.8 / 73.9
July...........89.6 / 75.2
August.......89.7 / 75.2
September....8.8 / 74.7 October.......85.9 / 72.5
November.....82.0 / 69.1 December.....79.2 / 65.0
Waterspout in front of my house on Great Abaco
Bahamas-Weather during the winter months from November through April can be cool as strong fronts coming off the Florida coast bring cooler air with northwest, north and northeast winds that can blow up to 25 knots or more. From May to October the winds are usually southeasterly and 10 knots or less. Winds are predominately easterly most of the year.
Last March some good friends from Montana came to stay with me at my house on Abaco to go fly fishing for a couple weeks and were frustrated by daily winds in access of 25 knots and conditions that were described on the forecasts as "dynamic and unstable" for 10 days straight! About the only thing that you can catch with a fly rod in 25 knots of wind is yourself.
Strong west wind blowing into easterly ocean swells off the coast of Abaco.
If you are planning a boating or fishing vacation to the islands, tides as well as the Bahamas-weather conditions will play an important part of your trip. There are two high and two low tides daily changing a little over every six hours throughout the day. The difference between high and low tides varies depending on the current position of the moon. The tidal flow can change between 2-4 feet with the highest difference occurring during the full moon.
The Long Dock at low tide in Cherokee Sound, Abaco.
Bahamas-Weather Hurricanes, unfortunately have become something to consider when planning a trip to the Bahamas. Based on a 90 year history Nassau may expect to experience hurricane force winds an average of once every nine years. I first sailed my boat across the Gulf Stream to the islands in 1978, and at that time everyone was aware of the hurricane season but no one really expected one to hit the islands.
That all changed in 1999 when hurricane Floyd hit the islands at 155 miles per hour and devastated the Islands and North Carolina. Since then hurricanes seem to roll through the Bahamas on a yearly basis. I have been through 6 hurricanes since Hurricane Floyd.Believe me, you would rather be anywhere possible than in the relentless rage of a hurricane force tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Floyd over the Bahamas in 1999.
Bahamas-Weather-Hurricanes Hurricanes season in the Islands is officially from June 1st until November 30, although most storms occur between August 15 and October 15, but there are exceptions. I was in Little Harbour, Abaco with my family on our summer vacation on July 11,1996 when Hurricane Bertha passed over the island.
Here is a photo of my son Cody helping me tend to our 39 ft. sailboat "Cacique" and 23ft. fishing boat "Mario". I had planted "Mario" as far as I could get it up the beach at high tide in front of "Pete's Pub" in Little Harbour, Abaco and tied it to a 1,000 anchor that we had previously found on the bottom of the ocean. This storm was only a category 1 storm with 80 mph winds and came and went within 24 hours. We had to wear a mask and snorkel walking around during the storm in order to see and breathe!
My son Cody in Hurricane Bertha in 1996.
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