Average Weather in West Bay Cayman Islands

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2. Cayman Islands
3. West Bay
4. West Bay

In West Bay, the wet season is mostly cloudy; the dry season is mostly clear; and it is warm, oppressive, and windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 77°F to 85°F and is rarely below 74°F or above 86°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In West Bay, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in West Bay begins around November 12 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around May 15. On February 25, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 18% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 15 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around November 12. On June 15, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 81% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 19% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in West Bay varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from May 19 to November 20, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 40% on September 28.

The drier season lasts 6.0 months, from November 20 to May 19. The smallest chance of a wet day is 3% on April 12.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 40% on September 28.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. West Bay experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.8 months, from April 28 to February 21, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around October 13, with an average total accumulation of 4.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from February 21 to April 28. The least rain falls around April 8, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in West Bay varies over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 58 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 13 hours, 18 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:46 AM on June 5, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 16 minutes later at 7:02 AM on January 17. The earliest sunset is at 5:45 PM on November 25, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 22 minutes later at 7:08 PM on July 5.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in West Bay during 2017.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in West Bay, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 4% of 96% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in West Bay experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from October 23 to March 25, with average wind speeds of more than 7.1 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is November 26, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.9 months, from March 25 to October 23. The calmest day of the year is September 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in West Bay is from the east throughout the year.

West Bay is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.3 months, from July 14 to October 24, with an average temperature above 84°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is September 9, with an average temperature of 85°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.4 months, from January 1 to April 14, with an average temperature below 81°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is February 21, with an average temperature of 80°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from March 8 to May 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest day of the year is April 17, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from June 11 to January 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.7 kWh. The darkest day of the year is September 22, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of West Bay are 19.367 deg latitude, -81.417 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of West Bay is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 69 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (82 feet). Within 50 miles is essentially flat (115 feet).

The area within 2 miles of West Bay is covered by water (97%), within 10 miles by water (96%), and within 50 miles by water (99%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in West Bay, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

West Bay is further than 200 kilometers from the nearest reliable weather station, so the weather-related data on this page were taken entirely from NASA's MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

The temperature and dew point estimates are corrected for the difference between the reference elevation of the MERRA-2 grid cell and the elevation of West Bay, according to the International Standard Atmosphere .

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.