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Cayman Islands - Climate

The climate of Grand Cayman is warm in the Summer. In the Autum, Winter and Spring, say from November to March, it is refreshingly cool, at times quite cold.

The Caribbean climate of Grand Cayman is one of the features of the destination that appeals most to tourists. For most of the year, temperatures are warm or hot, and in summer or winter, seldom go lower than 21°C/70°F or higher than 32°C/90°F, with the year round average around 25°C/78°F. Rainfall varies over the island and tends to be heaviest in June and October.

Temperatures change only slightly all through the year in Grand Cayman, with March, April and May tending to be the hottest period, together with the months of September and October, when temperatures average around 34°C / 93°F and regularly climb higher.

The climate in Grand Cayman is at its wettest from June through the summer months to October, when showers can be heavy and surprising, often clear as quick as they arrived. The average annual daytime temperatures in George Town are around 33°C / 90°F. Probably the best time to visit is January, February and March, when the climate is mildest.

There is little difference in the length of the days between summer and winter. Sunset is about 6:00 pm in December and at about 7:00 pm in June.

The hurricane season normally runs from June to November. In 2008, Hurricane Paloma, a category 4 storm, battered the territory, significantly damaging Cayman Brac. Damage costs were estimated at US$ 188.3 million (CI$ 154.4 million). No deaths were recorded. The World Meteorological Organization removed the name Paloma from its rotating tropical cyclone names list in April 2009 because of the extent of its damage.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that small island states (SIDS) are especially vulnerable to the projected impacts of climate change. The Cayman Islands and numerous other low-lying islands and coastal regions around the world are on the frontline of climate change and are particularly vulnerable to the twin threats of rising sea-levels and weather events likely to cause flooding.

The average temperature in the Cayman Islands has risen steadily for the past four years due to the effects of global climate change, according to National Weather Service Director John Tibbetts. In January 2016 he said annual average temperatures have risen 1.2 degrees over the past four years, and he expected the trend of warmer weather and less rain to continue in the years to come.

Over the past 30 years, the average annual temperature rose from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit in 1985 to 82.9 degrees last year. Tibbetts said the temperature trend is following the model forecasters use to predict the impacts of global climate change on the weather in Cayman. “We will get warmer and drier,” the Weather Service director said, and the changes to Cayman’s climate could have far-reaching effects on the islands.

Higher temperatures will have repercussions for sporting events and on the elderly, and people will have higher electric bills from having to run their air conditioning more. The higher temperatures would cause heat stress on plants and outdoor animals. The effects of increased temperatures on plants and agriculture would combine with less rainfall to make the impacts worse. Lower rainfall would also have consequences for Cayman’s drinking water supply.

Department of Environment Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said in October 2009 that preparing for climate change now is not only necessary, it will be "far less costly and more effective than future remedial measures." Responding to a letter published in the Caymanian Compass, Ebanks-Petrie refuted claims that government was wasting money developing a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Cayman Islands.

"The department is not using additional government funds for this project. The workshops and consultancy hours necessary for the development of an adaptation strategy are all funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC)," she explained. The CCCC is funded by Belize, Barbados and Italy, with some projects paid for by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility.