Weather

You may retrieve actual weather conditions and forecasts for Aruba by consulting the following meteorological services:

You can consult the winds speed table to assess current sailing conditions. The Sunfish sails pleasant in winds up to 15 knots. However, the Sunfish can sail well in winds up to 25 knots provided that it is properly rigged (see index item "Tuning the Sunfish sail" on the Tip's & Tricks page). We do not recommend sailing the Sunfish in winds of 7 Beaufort or higher.

Beaufort (Wind force)	Knots	Km/h	Mp/h	English	Dutch
0	0 – 1	0 – 1	0 – 1	Calm	Stil
1	1 – 3	1 – 5	1 – 3	Light air	Zwakke wind
2	4 – 6	6 – 11	4 – 7	Light breeze	Zwakke wind
3	7 – 10	12 – 19	8 – 12	Gentle breeze	Matige wind
4	11 – 16	20 – 28	13 – 18	Moderate breeze	Matige wind
5	17 – 21	29 – 38	19 – 24	Fresh breeze	Vrij krachtige wind
6	22 – 27	39 – 49	25 – 31	Strong breeze	Krachtige wind
7	28 – 33	50 – 61	32 – 38	Near gale	Harde wind
8	34 – 40	62 – 74	39 – 46	Gale	Stormachtig
9	41 – 47	75 – 88	47 – 55	Strong gale	Storm
10	48 – 55	89 – 102	56 – 64	Storm	Zware storm
11	56 – 63	103 – 117	65 – 73	Violent storm	Zeer zware storm
12	> 63	> 118	> 74	Hurricane	Orkaan

Aruba is located at a latitude of approximately 12º north of the equator exposing it to continuous northeasterly trade winds (Dutch: “Noord-Oost passaat”). The trade winds are created by a system of permanent low air pressure over the equator and permanent high air pressure over the subtropics (30º north latitude). The low air pressure over the equator is caused by a high earth temperature and therefore ascending air. This air flows north to the subtropics in the higher atmosphere layers. Along the way, the air cools and starts to descend causing permanent high air pressure over the subtropics.

The average wind speed in Aruba is 16 knots and the wind direction is easterly more than 95% of the time. As a consequence the classical Divi Divi tree is shaped in this direction. Since Aruba’s terrain is almost flat, the wind sweeps clouds quickly over the island without allowing moisture to build into rain showers. Therefore, the sea off the leeward coasts is rarely stirred up by a storm and you may count on ideal water sports conditions. The average air pressure at sea level is 1013 mb (or hPa).

The average year round temperature in Aruba is 27.5ºC/81.5ºF, with a seasonal variation of 2.5º. The difference between median day and night temperatures is just 3.6º. The highest recorded temperature recorded since 1948 in Aruba is 38ºC/99.8ºF. The seawater temperature fluctuates from 25.4ºC/78ºF in February to 28ºC/82ºF in September.

Humidity of the air in Aruba typically lies around 55%. The average rainfall is 460 mm and 65% of all rain occurs in the months October through January.

Sunlight in Aruba is strong, especially between 11 am and 3 pm, as the island is located at only approximately 12º north of the equator. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation often ranks 10 or ‘Very High’ on the UV Index. The UV Index predicts UV intensity levels on a scale of 1 to 11+, where 1 indicates a low risk of overexposure and 11+ signifies an extreme risk. It is therefore recommended to generously apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 during water sports activities. In addition, protective eyewear with polarized lenses is recommended for sailing. Morning sunrises and evening sunsets are at roughly the same times each day, regardless of the seasons.

The hurricane season in the Tropical Atlantic and the Wider Caribbean region starts on June 1^st and ends on November 30^th. In an average year about 10 tropical storms develop and about 6 mature into hurricanes. During the hurricane season, hurricanes are most active in the months of August, September and October.

Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are located out of the hurricane belt they are considered by almost all international insurance companies as a hurricane free area. This is the reason that you may see numerous luxury yachts out of the US stationed at Aruba’s marina’s during the hurricane season.

However, from August until November a tropical wave sometimes disturbs the normal weather pattern and a wind reversal and a northwest swell can be expected.

For more information on hurricane preparation you can contact Aruba’s local authorities: