Hurricane Season

Punta Cana hurricane season, month by month

Hurricane season in Punta Cana and the rest of the Dominican Republic runs from June 1 to November 30, the official Atlantic season set by the US National Hurricane Center.

BestMarch29° / 22° · 50mmAvoidOctober32° / 24° · 124mmNowNovember30° / 23° · Avoid
Aerial view of a Punta Cana beach with a boat moored in turquoise water
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The season in one line: June to November, worst in September

Punta Cana, like the rest of the Dominican Republic, follows the official Atlantic hurricane season, June 1 to November 30. Across the whole Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center puts the peak on September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. The country's recent hurricane landfalls are clustered in September.

Rain is less seasonal here than on many islands. Punta Cana gets 135mm in September, its wettest month, but still 124–131mm in October and November, against 50–65mm a month from February to April.

Month by month

  • June (94mm) and July (85mm): the season opens, though in an average Atlantic season the first hurricane does not form until early to mid-August.
  • August (107mm): risk climbs into the main part of the season.
  • September (135mm): the Atlantic peak and the wettest month. Georges, Jeanne and Fiona all made landfall in September, and Irma passed off the north coast in early September 2017. Our worst time to visit Punta Cana guide covers what that means for a trip.
  • October (124mm): still inside the main season, from mid-August to mid-October.
  • November (131mm): the season winds down, though rain stays high.

Hurricanes that have hit or brushed the Dominican Republic

These are recent hurricanes from the National Hurricane Center's storm reports. It is a guide to the pattern, not a complete list.

  • Georges, 22 September 1998, category 3. Georges crossed the Mona Passage from Puerto Rico and made landfall about 75 nautical miles east of Santo Domingo, on the southeast coast, then weakened over the mountains of Hispaniola, where its rain caused deadly flash floods and mudslides.
  • Jeanne, 16 September 2004, category 1. Jeanne came ashore at the eastern tip of the country, the corner where Punta Cana sits. A hurricane watch went up 38 hours before landfall and a hurricane warning 20 hours before.
  • Irma and Maria, September 2017. Irma's eye passed about 50 nautical miles north of the north coast on 6–7 September. Later that month, Maria brought hurricane-force gusts to the northeast coast.
  • Fiona, 19 September 2022, category 1. Fiona made landfall on the southeast coast near Boca de Yuma and crossed the east of the country. Punta Cana measured sustained winds of 62 mph and a gust to 79 mph, in an incomplete record.

Georges, Jeanne and Fiona all reached the Dominican Republic from the east, over or near Puerto Rico and the Mona Passage, and all three came ashore on the eastern half of the country.

If your dates fall in hurricane season

  • Be most careful in September. Every landfall above came in September.
  • Book flexible. Pick refundable hotel rates and flights you can change, and buy travel insurance when you book, before a storm has a name.
  • Watch the forecast. Follow the National Hurricane Center and ONAMET, the national weather office; our live storm tracker shows active storms.
  • Or go February to April. That is outside hurricane season and the driest time of year. The best time to visit Punta Cana guide covers every month.

For the wider region, island by island, see when hurricane season is in the Caribbean.

Your Punta Cana trip planner

When to go, an airport map with transfer prices, where to stay and what to book, with a link to book each one. 6 pages, PDF.

  • The best and best-value months, and the ones to avoid
  • An airport map with drive times and transfer prices to each resort area
  • Where to stay, the day trips worth booking, and a before-you-go checklist
  • Plus the Punta Cana cheat sheet and the Travel Timing Calendar 2027

We'll email you the trip planner and cheat sheet with the Travel Timing Calendar, plus occasional travel-timing guides. Unsubscribe anytime; see our privacy policy.

The year at a glance

Twelve months, three seasons

Each cell is one month. Lemon means peak, sky means shoulder, gray means avoid. The outlined cell is the current month.

Punta Cana in January: Peak.Punta Cana in February: Peak.Punta Cana in March: Peak.Punta Cana in April: Shoulder.Punta Cana in May: Shoulder.Punta Cana in June: Shoulder.Punta Cana in July: Shoulder.Punta Cana in August: Shoulder.Punta Cana in September: Avoid.Punta Cana in October: Avoid.Punta Cana in November: Avoid.Punta Cana in December: Peak.
Peak seasonShoulderAvoid

Atlas Ranger Score · proprietary

When Punta Cana scores best, month by month

Our transparent 0–100 score blends weather comfort, crowds, value and festivals into one number per month. How it's calculated →

69/100Goodannual average
  • Best monthMarch 81
  • Best valueApril 77 off-peak
  • ToughestOctober 62
73Jan78Feb81★Mar77Apr64May67Jun66Jul64Aug61Sep62Oct68Nov71Dec

See how Punta Cana ranks against every destination on the Best Time to Travel leaderboard →

Explore the map

Every city, every month

Drag the month scrubber, hover any city, read the headline for that window.

Loading seasonality map…
Conditions right now
Right now in Punta Cana: 26°C, cloudy.
Feels like30°C
Humidity89%
Wind12 km/h
UV (clear sky)0 Low
Today☁️28° 26°6.9 mm
Wed⛅30° 26°0 mm
Thu🌦️29° 24°11 mm
Fri⛅30° 26°0.8 mm
Sat⛅30° 26°0.3 mm
Forecast updated Nov 10, 5:19 AM UTC · Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Dominican Republic vs Nearby Destinations

vs Cancun

The closest like-for-like: both are resort strips with the same hurricane calendar and the same sargassum problem. Cancun has cenotes and Mayan ruins as day trips and slightly drier winters; Punta Cana has a shorter flight from the US East Coast and generally lower prices. Pick Cancun for excursions; pick Punta Cana for value.

vs Aruba

Aruba sits outside the hurricane belt, has no real wet season, and never gets sargassum on its west-coast beaches — but it is pricier and less lush. Punta Cana is cheaper and greener. Pick Aruba for a September–November trip; pick Punta Cana from December to April.

Airport transfers, money, water, connectivity and which areas to stay in are covered once, on the Punta Cana best-time guide. Choosing a neighborhood? See the where to stay in Punta Cana.

Frequently asked questions

When is hurricane season in Punta Cana?
June 1 to November 30, the official Atlantic hurricane season, the same for the whole Dominican Republic. The season peaks on September 10, with most activity from mid-August to mid-October, according to the National Hurricane Center.
What is the worst month for hurricanes in the Dominican Republic?
September. Georges made landfall on 22 September 1998, Jeanne on 16 September 2004 and Fiona on 19 September 2022, and in 2017 Irma passed about 50 nautical miles off the north coast on 6–7 September. September is also the wettest month in Punta Cana, at 135mm.
Is it safe to visit Punta Cana during hurricane season?
Most weeks of the season pass without a storm, and hurricanes are tracked for days before they arrive: for Jeanne in 2004, a hurricane watch went up 38 hours before landfall. If your dates fall between June and November, book refundable rates, buy travel insurance when you book, and follow the National Hurricane Center and ONAMET, the national weather office.
When does hurricane season end in Punta Cana?
Officially on November 30. Rain stays fairly high through the autumn in Punta Cana (124mm in October and 131mm in November), drops to 91mm in December, and is lowest from February to April, at 50–65mm a month.
What is the worst month to visit Punta Cana?
October, narrowly ahead of September. Both sit inside the hurricane window with more than 120mm of rain. September carries the higher storm risk and the most rain of any month (135mm) — Fiona hit on September 19, 2022 — while October has less sun (7.8 hours against 8.2). November is nearly as wet as September (131mm) but with much lower hurricane risk.
What is the best month to visit Punta Cana?
March. It is the driest month (50mm) with 9 hours of sun, 29°C days, and minimal sargassum. Prices are at winter-peak levels and spring break adds crowds on the Bávaro strip. For value, mid-April to early May offers similar weather at noticeably lower rates before the seaweed arrives.
When is sargassum season in Punta Cana?
Typically May through September, peaking in July and August, though it varies sharply year to year. The east-facing beaches from Bávaro to Cap Cana are the most affected; resorts rake daily and some install offshore barriers. Uvero Alto and the north-facing beaches often fare better. It usually clears by October and is minimal December–April.
When is the cheapest time to visit Punta Cana?
September and October, when resort rates can fall well below winter levels. The trade-off is hurricane-peak timing and some resorts closing for renovation. Late April to early June and the first half of December offer most of the discount with far less risk — and December is dry.
How many days do you need in Punta Cana?
Five to seven days suits most trips. Two excursions are worth the time: Saona Island (a full day by boat) and the Hoyo Azul cenote at Scape Park. Santo Domingo's colonial zone is a long day trip (2.5 hours each way) — better as an overnight if you want it.
Is Punta Cana safe for tourists?
The resort zone is well-policed and low-risk. Standard precautions apply in towns and on excursions: use resort-arranged or official taxis, avoid unlicensed water-sports operators, and watch the flag system on beaches — some east-facing stretches have strong rip currents. Check the hurricane forecast daily from August to October.

Keep planning

Plan your Dominican Republic trip

Sources

Every claim on this page is backed by an authoritative source. Atlas Ranger synthesizes data from multiple references so you can see exactly where each fact came from.

  1. Go Dominican Republic (Ministry of Tourism)Used for: Official visitor information, entry requirements, event dates
  2. NOAA: Punta Cana International Airport, 1991-2020Used for: Monthly temperature, rainfall and sunshine averages
  3. NOAA National Hurricane CenterUsed for: Atlantic hurricane season climatology and historical landfalls
  4. Oficina Nacional de Meteorología (ONAMET)Used for: Dominican national forecasts and storm advisories
  5. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone ClimatologyUsed for: Season dates (June 1 to November 30), the September 10 peak and the mid-August to mid-October main season
  6. NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Georges (1998)Used for: Landfall about 75 n mi east of Santo Domingo with 105-kt winds, 22 September 1998
  7. NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Jeanne (2004)Used for: Landfall at the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic with 70-kt winds, 16 September 2004; watch and warning lead times
  8. NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (2017)Used for: Eye about 50 n mi north of the northern shore, 6–7 September 2017
  9. NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Maria (2017)Used for: Hurricane-force gusts on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic
  10. NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Fiona (2022)Used for: Landfall on the southeastern coast near Boca de Yuma with winds near 80 kt, 19 September 2022; winds measured at Punta Cana