St. John Weather Report: No Worries!

“We are headed to St. John next week and the weather forecast shows rain nearly every day. What should we do?” We hear this countless times. News flash, most national weather reports are completely inaccurate when it comes to the Virgin Islands.

For instance, Accuweather, weather.com and weather.gov all report St. John’s forecast as rainy for the majority of the next 10 days, when in fact, this one (from Dan Boyd, more about him below) is spot on: “a few brief patches of moisture moving through the area which may be limited with as much dry air as we are expecting.”

Here’s a little secret: Your go-to source for St. John’s daily forecast is reported by Lovango resident Dan Boyd on this Facebook page, St. John VI Weather. Not only do you get the short term and long-term forecast, Dan also reports sun, moon and tide tables; and marine and aviation conditions with radar screenshots. Doesn’t get much better than that!

Fortunately, weather on St. John is rarely a concern. The temperature might dip as low as 75 degrees during the winter months … brrrr! And we do experience what is fondly called “Christmas winds” around December, so hang on to your hat. Summer months often bring hazy skies on the horizon with the arrival of Saharan dust (yes, actual dust and sand originating from Africa), but that dust is a welcome sight around here. It contains minerals that provide nutrients for our forest, it makes for colorful sunsets and, more importantly, the dust keeps hurricanes at bay due to the increase of vertical wind shear.

So if you experience a brief shower during your stay, enjoy the liquid sunshine that keeps our island green and our cisterns full and keep one eye on Dan’s forecast!

About Dan Boyd:

My dad’s family has a long history of fishing up in Northern Nova Scotia. I grew up in a small fishing village just South of Boston called Houghs Neck. I started working on the docks when I was around 10 years old lugging gear and pestering the old timers. As I grew older, I started working on the lobster boats out in Boston Harbor. My dad would make me tell him every night what the weather would be for the next day. He wanted me to respect the sea and the weather. So, over the years I have studied weather and meteorology. When I was in the USAF, I worked on the flight line and got to know the meteorologists.

I use the National Weather Service for much of my forecasts. I also look out the window and at satellite pictures along with local Doppler radar. I try not to forecast too far in the future, 3 to 5 days max. I do it as a community service for the people of St John. It’s my little way of giving back. I also got tired of hearing all the scuttlebutt during hurricane season of what was out there and when we would get hit. I wanted to take all those rumors away and try to give a good, concise forecast. There are also many other amateur meteorologists on St. John that help with the forecast, especially during hurricane season. Rafe Boulon, Ed and Eleanor Gibney, David Silverman and Sloop Jones out on the East End help out more than they realize. Crown Weather services out of Massachusetts also helps on forecasting tropical weather systems. They charge a fee but it’s well worth the expense.  My favorite motto is: The only thing dependable about tropical weather systems is their unpredictability!

Stay vigilant and stay safe!