Worst time to visit St. Thomas

The worst month to visit St. Thomas is September

September is the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, and St. Thomas sits in the eastern Caribbean — the first landfall for storms crossing the Atlantic. Even in quiet years it is hot (32°C) and humid with 27°C nights, 117mm of rain, and a share of restaurants and small hotels closed for the month.

Hurricane Irma hit St. Thomas as a Category 5 on September 6, 2017. Hurricane Maria followed as another Category 5 on September 20.Two weeks apart, the two storms destroyed most of the island's hotel inventory, knocked out power for months, and closed the airport to commercial flights for weeks. Marilyn (September 1995) and Hugo (September 1989) were the previous benchmarks — four catastrophic strikes, all in September.

Why August through October is genuinely difficult

• First-landfall exposure.Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, but the eastern Caribbean's serious storms cluster from mid-August to late October. Track systems at the NOAA National Hurricane Center and local guidance from VITEMA.
• Rain. 133mm in August rising to 145mm in October — the wettest month — with sunshine down to 10.4 hours.
• Heat and humidity. 32°C days, 27°C nights, and the trade wind at its weakest.
• Seasonal closures. Many restaurants, dive shops, and small hotels close for September and October; the St. John ferry runs but excursions cancel for rough water more often.

In exchange, September and October bring the lowest villa and resort rates of the year — commonly well under the winter price.

The other "wrong" time: cruise-ship days in Charlotte Amalie

Not a month, but a pattern worth knowing: St. Thomas is one of the busiest cruise ports in the Caribbean, and on peak winter days three or four ships can dock at once.

• Charlotte Amalie's waterfront and duty-free streets are wall-to-wall from 9am to 4pm
• Magens Bay and Coki Point fill with ship excursions by mid-morning
• Taxis and the Skyride run long queues

Check the port schedule and plan town and Magens Bay for no-ship days or after 4pm; do St. John, which has no cruise dock, on the busiest days.

If you have to travel in hurricane season, here's what to do

• Get named-storm insurance at booking. Policies bought after a storm is named will not cover it — and in September a storm can be named a week before it arrives.
• Confirm your hotel, villa, and restaurants are open — September and October closures are common and not always shown on booking sites.
• Stay near the airport and the East End resorts, which have generators and stay staffed through the season.
• Do St. John early in the trip — Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are the best beaches in the territory, and the ferry from Red Hook is the first thing cancelled in rough weather.
• Follow the NHC outlook every day from mid-August. St. Thomas is often the first land a system meets after crossing the Atlantic, so warning times are short.

Better windows: when to visit instead

• Late April: Winter high season ends mid-month and rates drop sharply while the weather stays dry and sunny; USVI Carnival closes the month. The best-value window.
• First half of December: Dry season is back (50mm), trade winds return, and rates stay near low-season levels until the Christmas surge.
• March: The driest month (32mm), the clearest water, and the best snorkelling — at peak prices.

Click any month on the seasonality map above for the full climate detail and our verdict.