Climate of Sint Eustatius

Climate of Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius is a small island in the Caribbean with Oranjestad as its capital. Sint Eustatius (where mainly English is spoken) has been a special municipality in the Netherlands since 10-10-2010, before this date it belonged to the Windward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles. The locals call the island Statia. Tourism is the island’s main source of income. Most tourists come here for diving or for the beautiful, untouched nature. The highest point on the island is Quill, a volcano that has been dormant for hundreds of years. Like Saba, Sint Eustatius has had its own university for medicine since the beginning of this century. This university attracts many Americans and Canadians to the island.

Tropical climate

Sint Eustatius has a tropical monsoon climate, with a wet late summer and autumn. The average daytime temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius. The trade winds ensure that it does not get really hot on the island and can even ensure that it can be on the cool side in the evenings. There is quite a bit of rain here throughout the year, but the peak of the rainy season is in the months of October to December.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month Water temperature
January 29℃ 23℃ 8 15 26℃
February 29℃ 23℃ 9 11 26℃
March 30℃ 24℃ 9 11 26℃
April 30℃ 24℃ 8 11 27℃
May 30℃ 25℃ 8 14 27℃
June 30℃ 25℃ 8 14 28℃
July 31℃ 25℃ 9 16 28℃
August 31℃ 25℃ 8 16 28℃
September 31℃ 25℃ 8 16 29℃
October 31℃ 24℃ 8 17 29℃
November 30℃ 24℃ 8 16 28℃
December 29℃ 23℃ 8 15 27℃

Best time to visit St. Eustatius

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to St. Eustatius? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. With an area of ​​only 21 square kilometers, Sint Eustatius is the second smallest island in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, which also includes Saba and Bonaire. The volcanic island has a tropical climate with fairly high temperatures and precipitation every month, with a drier and a wetter period. During the drier season it is slightly less warm, which is experienced as pleasant by most visitors to St. Eustatius. If both temperatures and relative humidity rise in the wetter season, this results in a higher perceived temperature. The weather then becomes clammy and stuffy. You will certainly notice this when you start making an effort, for example during walks on St. Eustatius.

Best months

The best time to travel for a holiday on St. Eustatius is from mid-December to the end of April. The chance of precipitation increases significantly in May compared to April. You also notice that the clouds in May have more of a grip on the general weather picture on St. Eustatius. June and July are a bit drier than May, which means that these months are generally considered good travel months for St. Eustatius.

The wetter season

The second half of the calendar year may be considered the wetter season. The afternoon temperatures are around 30 degrees Celsius. At night it cools down very gradually to reach the minimum temperature of the day only towards sunrise. It is usually somewhere between 23 and 27 degrees. During the wetter season you see that the number of days in which it rains increases and that the chance of days with larger amounts of precipitation increases. Especially in the months of September, October and November it can sometimes rain heavily. Torrential rain with large amounts of rain within a short period of time cannot be ruled out.

The hurricane

From July to November there is a small chance that St. Eustatius will be hit by a hurricane. This period is considered hurricane season in much of the Caribbean. Fortunately, St. Eustatius is not often hit by a heavy storm with hurricane force. However, you cannot completely rule out the possibility of this.

Sint Eustatius