Hello everyone!

This will be my first time traveling to Aruba and I am concerned about the weather forecast for my trip (6/11 - 6/17). Thunderstorms are forecasted for the next few weeks. Are these storms very short in duration? Is there cause for concern? Much thanks to any response from seasoned Aruba vacationers!

Mike

mike, i will tell you what i tell every newbie. go directly to the weather sites on your computer and delete every one of them. it's not that they lie, they just don't tell the whole truth. it's sorta called 'cover your a**' i have read those same forcasts before trips to aruba. granted, you never quite know for sure what will happen but after 13 trips averaging 10 days each i have never had a total rainout day.

yes, it does happen and that's what those sites are letting you know. somewhere on the island or within miles of the area there may be a shower. it may cross the island, it may pick the other side of the island, or it may sit out at sea as many have done while we are there. we have also been foolish enough to leave our beach hut only once for a shower and by the time we got all of our stuff back to our room the sun was out.

what i am trying to say is, relax. if it rains one day, that is the day you shop. if it rains a few hours, sleep late or take an afternoon nap. you aren't going to change your plans at this point so relax. bet there is a lot more time at the beach than you think.

oh, and we want a trip report when you come back please.

Mike, Sherry is right - if it does rain (rarely), it's brief and often welcome. In our trips to Aruba we have never had a washout - on our first week there it started to rain one day, so we hurriedly packed up our gear and left the beach, right as the storm stopped and gave way to the sun again. Never saw another drop in the week, and rarely seen a drop since. Ignore the weather reports, plan for sun, and if it does rain? Enjoy the break from the strong Aruban sun, look for a rainbow, smile knowingly as you watch others scamper for cover, and get ready for the sun to come back stronger than ever.

Have a great trip!

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I'll be down for 2 weeks starting June 12. The weather for Aruba is always
"Partly Cloudy". Been there 15 trips this time of year and last year it really rained. One Tuesday my wife took her morning walk along the sunny Eagle Beach. The storm came through about 9am. First thunder storm I have ever seen in Aruba. We still had coffee on our balcony. By 10am it was over and by 11am we were out on the sunny beach. That was the most rain we have ever seen. Some years a storm may pass through Aruba. Think a couple of times it rained for like 10 minutes while we were on the beach. Was not hard and we just stayed under our hut.
For the most part you will have sun and sun. Have been told most rain comes in the Fall.

It's only natural to be concerned. It hardly ever rain on Aruba. The yearly average is 16 inches with most of that between November and December.

But that's not to say you won't experience some sort of rainfall. In more t han 10 years, this year was the first time we experienced a day where it rained for the bulk of the day. But even then we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

Normally when it does rain, the Tradewinds help keep the storm moving and it does rain for long. 2004 has been a wetter than normal year, but to put it into perspective here's an article from a local reporter on Aruba about April being the wettest April on record for the island.

You'll notice that even though this was the wettest April on record, the total rainfall for the month was less than an inch.

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Aruba for me

Definitely listen to all these experienced Aruba visitors - they are right on the mark - don't worry about the rain! If it showers at all, it will be brief and then you will be blessed with a beautiful rainbow - I've even seen a few double rainbows in Aruba. It rains for such a short time and the sun comes back so quickly that the moisture in the air and the sun rays create a beautiful rainbow.
Hey - I notice that a few of you will be there real soon. We are having a BB party at the pool bar at the Paradise Beach Villas on Monday, June 14 at 4 PM - we'd love to see you there. We picked the PBV because someone from the BBs was staying there and many of us haven't seen the resort so thought we'd check it out. I'll put a sign on the table so just come on by and look for us.....Cheryl

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visit us at www.arubavacationhouse.com

Sherry I agree with everything you have said in your post. It seems that when somone looks at the weather forecast for their trip it always says cloudy or rain and showers. I think that people should just forget about looking at the weather channel and looking at the computer forecast on their computer. In all my trips to aruba it rained one time hard for about 10 minutes. I was at the animal shelter at the time so I was suprised but it was over so fast that I just stood in the outside patio of the shelter and had a plesant conversion with the people of the shelter. By the time I had left which the total time was about 1 hour the streets and beach area back at resort did not look like it had rained at all. I am hoping that we don't get 50 questions about the weather on this board. Other boards it seems like every other question is about the weather and it seems that it gets redundant. NOBODY can predict the weather 100% except God and Nature so for all those that hope the weather is good for their trip either pray to god or scarifice something for nature

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

I want to thank everyone for their response. We were actually on the verge of cancelling our trip but thank goodness I stumbled onto this board. I can't wait to get to Aruba. The next 10 days can't go by fast enough! THANKS AGAIN!!

Mike

Thank you so much, everyone! Like Mike, I was starting to get a little nervous since we leave for Aruba Monday morning and all I see is rain and wind in the forecast. All of you have put my mind at ease. But you know, if it does rain, so what? I'm sure we'll find something fun to do - just keep those cocktails coming! Thanks again!

Teri & Jim