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Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, sits on the island's southeastern coast on one of the world's largest natural harbours, sheltered from the trade winds by the Blue Mountains rising steeply behind, at approximately 17.99°N, 76.79°W. It has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — hot and humid year-round — kept notably dry by the mountains' rain shadow, and it lies in the Atlantic hurricane belt.
There is no summer in the temperate sense: temperatures stay hot and steady, with daytime highs around 32–33°C and warm nights near 23–25°C, tempered by the sea breeze. The wetter months, from May to June and again from September to November, bring heavy afternoon downpours and thunderstorms; the latter peak coincides with the height of the Atlantic hurricane season.
There is no true winter, but the drier season from December to April brings slightly lower humidity, more sunshine and much less rain, with warm days around 30°C and pleasant nights near 21–22°C. This bright, breezy, drier stretch is comfortably the most pleasant time of year and the peak tourist season.
Kingston is dry for the Caribbean, receiving only around 800–900 mm of rain a year, delivered in two peaks around May and October, because the Blue Mountains behind the city strip the trade winds of their moisture — the windward north coast receives several times as much. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Kingston sits in the rain shadow of the Blue Mountains, which catch the moist northeast trade winds and leave the southern coast markedly dry — the same peaks that grow Jamaica's famous coffee. Hurricanes are the gravest hazard, striking between June and November, and Hurricane Gilbert devastated the city in 1988.
To follow any single measurement in Kingston more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.