West Indies Weather- World Cup

[Summer of 95]

Following the Cricket World Cup for what seems like months (47 days) I must admit I've been surprised at the number of rain delays/interruptions to the tournament. I was under the impression that in the Carribean the period about December-May was the dry season, and the wet season coincided with the hurricane season (June-Nov), and that was the reason for staging the tournament at this time of year having picked West Indies as hosts.

According to Weatherbase Kingston, Jamaica averages 20mm rain in March and 30mm in April, compared to 170mm in October- it looked to me like a whole month's rain (for March or April) fell in one afternoon at least once during the tournament. Bridgetown, Barbados is only a little wetter; 30-50mm in these months (due to it being further into the Atlantic? or closer to the equator?) and again is much wetter in the second half of the year. Was all this rain normal for this area at this time of year, or was the tournament also let down by unseasonal wet weather (as opposed to all the other disappointments)?

Does anyone with in-depth knowledge of Caribbean climate know if the weather "played ball" or was unusual?

[Andy Bown]

I've watched England's cricket ( on tv)in the Caribbean on two tours and also caught

some tv footage when other countries have been there. To me it seems certain islands

get a lot of sunshine and showers days, except with temperatures in the 30c range, unlike

over here on similar days!

When they moved to different islands for the Super 8 stage there were less showers than

early in the tournament and late on.

[Roo]

I'm no expert in the statistics, but having worked out there for a few years it was definitely noticeable that the 'seasons' were becoming less distinguishable. Although, a huge downpour was not uncommon when there was a real 'dry' season.

I believe the more leeward the islands, the wetter they tend to be, but again that may just be rumour!