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Is there any difference between the climate in the South Pacific vs. that of the Carribean Islands? Its more of a general knowledge question..so any input would be good
What part of the Caribbean? What part of the South Pacific?
Both (but especially the South Pacific) are vast regions with variety of different climates. In addition, even on inidividual islands there can sometimes be variations in climate because of prevailing winds, altitude differences etc.
As a general rule similar latitudes will have warmer water in the Caribbean than in the South Pacific simply because the waters of the Caribbean are much shallower than the incredibly deep South Pacific. This explains why the Caribbean has so many Hurricanes when compared to the South Pacific.
Carribean:Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands
South Pacific:Samoan Islands, Figi, Hawaii, Micronesia, Vanantu
Well, actually Hawaii is in the North Pacific, not the South Pacific, but that's a common mistake people make and understandable since what they are really doing is grouping the Polynesian Islands together.
I can't talk personally about the Caribbean. I've studied the area a bit in hopes of a future trip there, but have no first-hand experience.
Regarding the "South Pacific" places you've listed, I've been to Hawaii 3 times (Maui,Kauai,Oahu). Though not on your list, I've also been to French Polynesia (Tahiti,Bora Bora, Moorea) one time and the Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Aitutaki) twice. Note that the Cooks are more or less a mirror-image of Hawaii, with Rarotonga being at the exact same latitude as Maui (and directly south of it) but rather in the southern rather than the northern hemisphere. The climates of the two places are very similar except for the one major difference - the "rainy" season in the South Pacific is during the summer months while in Hawaii it's in the winter months. This actually puts them at the same time of the year as the seasons are reversed between Hawaii and the South Pacific. Note that the Cooks are cooler than the otehr places in the South Pacific that you've mentioned - which means that Samoa etc, will be warmer than Hawaii. The one other main difference weatherwise between Hawaii and places like the Cooks (including all the South Pacific places you mentioned except for the larger islands of Fiji - and maybe Vanuatu) is that in Hawaii the islands are generally large enough so that there is a wet side and a dry side. Most of the islands in the South Pacific
are too small to have much of that kind of effect. I have no idea about the Caribbean in this regard.
Again, I really can't compare the Caribbean weather to the South Pacific (other that telling you what I have read) though I can tell you a bit about the South Pacific weather (as I have) and how it compares to Hawaii.
haha yeah your right Hawaii is in the North Pacific, I wanted to put Polynesia but I wasn't sure about the spelling..haha..well Ive been to Puerto Rico before and honestly I can't imagine a climate any milder. I dont believe it has any distinct seasons. Ive heard daytime highs in the coldest months of the year there are about 83 degrees. I heard the rain is ridicules though..over 120 inches annually. I guess this is necessary to support the rainforests there.
haha yeah your right Hawaii is in the North Pacific, I wanted to put Polynesia but I wasn't sure about the spelling..haha..well Ive been to Puerto Rico before and honestly I can't imagine a climate any milder. I dont believe it has any distinct seasons. Ive heard daytime highs in the coldest months of the year there are about 83 degrees. I heard the rain is ridicules though..over 120 inches annually. I guess this is necessary to support the rainforests there.
Puerto Rico is (I believe) a bit warmer than Hawaii (or the Cooks for that matter) - though tempwise it might be similar to Samoa (just a guess).
Lots of rain throughout the South Pacific islands - and of course the island of Kauai boasts the rainiest spot of earth (Mount Waialeale - averaging 460 inches of rain a year). From the photos I've seen, the Caribbean islands (in general) appear to be a bit less lush than those in the South Pacific so I would guess that they tend to get less rainfall. In fact some Caribbean locations are very dry indeed - which doesn't seem to be the case in the South Pacific. Hawaii however has some very dry locations (on the leeward sides of Maui for example).
]Well first I need to make a correction in my information, the rain forest in Puerto Rico recieves 240 inches of rain annually. However, I can't figure out which places are more lush with vegetation, here are some pics maybe you can decide..
Is there any difference between the climate in the South Pacific vs. that of the Carribean Islands? Its more of a general knowledge question..so any input would be good
As anyone who knows anything about climate understands, the closer to the equator and closer to sea level you are, the warmer and more uniform the climate (in terms of temperature). Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Cuba and, to an extent, the U.S. Virgin Islands have a slight variation in seasonal temperature - on the order of about 6º-9º between the coldest and warmest months. Keep in mind that Puerto Rico, in particular, has highlands that are significantly cooler and receive more rainfall. The Cayman Islands have less fluctuation in annual temperature and islands such as Barbados, Grenada, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guadaloupe have virtually no seasonal temperature differential. Most of these islands have a wet and dry season. Almost all islands in the Caribbean have annual highs no greater than around 95º in coastal areas and 85º-90º in more mountainous terrain and annual lows rarely go below 65º in coastal areas and 50º in the mountains.
South Pacific Islands are similar, but some (specifically New Guinea) have very lofty mountainous areas that can even receive snow. Temperature-wise, look for similarities, although being in the Southern Hemisphere, winter and summer are reversed.
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