When Does Hurricane Season End In Jamaica? Latest Hurricane Ever and More!

When you travel to Jamaica, you can expect clear, blue water, sunshine, ocean breezes, tropical foliage, and white sands. As the summer winds down and transitions through autumn to winter, you can also expect tropical storms and the occasional hurricane. When does hurricane season end in Jamaica, and when is the latest that hurricanes have occurred in Jamaica?

End of Jamaican Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in Jamaica begins on June 1 and runs through November 30. August and October are the heaviest months for Jamaican hurricanes, so November hurricanes are relatively rare. Though the 30th is the end of the hurricane season, there have not been many hurricanes after the second week of the month.

Latest Recorded Hurricanes To Hit Jamaica

November 8 Storms

A significant number of Hurricanes that have historically struck Jamaica in November made landfall on the 8th of that month.

• November 8, 1818: A severe hurricane impacted the island, resulting in the grounding of many ships and the loss of coffee crops and plantation trees. Falling trees destroyed buildings.
• November 8, 1899: A tropical storm made landfall at Saint Thomas Parish with 65 mph winds. Four fatalities were reported, and significant damage was done to the United Fruit Company’s property at Port Antonio. The town of Morant Bay suffered extensive property damage.
• November 8, 1932: A glancing blow from the 1932 Cuba hurricane resulted in $4 million in damages and the loss of several banana trees.
• November 8, 2008: Hurricane Paloma was not expected to impact Jamaica, but rain from the outer bands caused flooding, damage, and one drowning death. The flooding resulted in $100,000 in damages to farms.

November 13, 1994 — Hurricane Gordon

Gordon struck Jamaica as a tropical storm but still caused over $11 million in damage and four deaths. After hitting Jamaica, it drifted out into the Atlantic, between Cuba and the Bahamas, before making landfall in Florida as a tropical storm. It became a hurricane briefly off the coast of North Carolina after crossing Florida.

November 18, 1912

This 1912 hurricane severely impacted Jamaica even before it made landfall. While developing in the Atlantic, it cast out bands of rain which impacted the island as early as the 10th. These initial rains dropped 36 inches over three days, causing massive flooding and property damage. Nearly 60% of the island’s banana crops were destroyed before the hurricane struck on the 18th.

Once the hurricane made landfall, it nearly destroyed several communities. Hundreds of people were left homeless. Wharves across the island were damaged, and boats at sea were destroyed, as well as many that were docked.

Conclusion

Though the hurricane season in Jamaica runs through the end of November, direct hits on the island during that month are rare. Nevertheless, these storms can happen, and the damage can be substantial.

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