Climate

The temperature, summer or winter, seldom goes lower than 70°F. or higher than 90°F. The average is 78°F. in the winter and about 86°F in the summer. The average annual humidity in 2009 was 75 percent. Rainfall varies over the Islands and seasonally. In 2009 rainfall totaled 51.90 inches which is 4.5 inches lower than normal. The wettest month was September with 20.6 inches recorded. The driest month was April with 0.03 of an inch recorded. Between May and October the prevailing winds are from east to south; from December to April, the coolest season of the year, prevailing winds are from the northeast to northwest. The hurricane season typically lasts from June to November. See also: Cayman Weather Details

Time Zone

The USA enjoys saving daylight, but the Cayman Islands, being nearer to the equator, has fairly equal periods of day and night year round. There’s really only about an hour’s difference in daylight between June 20th and December 20th. So all year, Cayman has the same time, -5 hours Coordinated Universal time (UTC).

This means the Islands share Eastern Standard Time (EST= -5 UTC) with Miami and New York from November through April. When the USA switches to Daylight Savings Time in April, Cayman then shares Central Daylight Time (CDT= -5 UTC) with Chicago and Houston.

This doesn’t cause too much confusion – it’s automatically factored into airline tickets. Residents sometimes think in terms of Miami time. Half the year, we have the same time as Miami; half the year, we’re an hour behind Miami. However, being aware of the situation is important if you have to call California before noon Pacific Time.