Været i Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) i april

Regulars describe this as the start of the rainy season, but genuinely mild compared with what summer brings, and are specific that rain here varies dramatically by location within a short drive - the volcano and interior mountains can see near-constant rain while the coast enjoys a sunny afternoon at the same time. Our row backs a real, building wetness for the flatter coastal area this reading covers, 71.8mm of rain across a striking 19.5 days, alongside warm, humid conditions, 27.5C reading as a hot 31C at 77 percent humidity, over 24.4C nights. The sea holds a warm 26.9C. The record: 11.6 hours of sun, an 18.6 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 36.

Regulars are specific hurricane season officially opens on June 1st here, though the actual cyclone risk stays close to zero through June, July and August, real storm risk instead concentrated later, mostly August through October. Our row backs that hot, genuinely wet read, 28.8C reading as a hot 33C, over 25.9C nights feeling 29C, with a substantial 63.9mm of rain across 20.3 days and humidity at 78 percent. Regulars are consistent most of the actual rain falls in the higher inland regions and in short spurts rather than settling in, up to 8 hours of sunshine still typical on many days despite the official rainy-season label. This remains genuinely one of the hottest, most humid months of the year regardless of the calm storm outlook. The sea sits at a bath-warm 28.9C. The record: 11.6 hours of sun, a 21.1 kph wind and AQI 44.

Regulars name February the driest month of the Guadeloupe year, putting it at about two inches of rain and well clear of the wet season that runs June to December. Our row agrees on the total - 53.3mm, which is those two inches almost exactly - and then appears to contradict it with 17.6 precipitation days. Both are right. Fifty millimetres spread over seventeen days is three millimetres a day, which is a passing shower rather than weather, and the column counts any day with a trace. The month to picture is bright with brief interruptions, not damp. Days sit at 26.5C over 23.8C nights, reading as 29C, with a 21.3 kph trade wind through them. The record: 10.7 hours of sun, a 26.2C sea and AQI 36.

December and January are the months regulars call perfect for Guadeloupe, with November to March or April the wider good run, and our row agrees more quietly than it looks: 18.6 precipitation days sound alarming until you see the 51.3mm spread across them, under three millimetres a day. The row is also unusually flat - 26.5C by day over 24.1C at night, barely two degrees apart. The honest part concerns the town itself. Regulars are blunt that Pointe-a-Pitre is a working city rather than a resort, worth passing through quickly except for the Memorial ACTe, and that the beaches and hotels are at Gosier a short ride away. A hire car is treated as essential. The record: humidity 77 percent, 10.5 hours of sun, a 26.7C sea and AQI 35.

March in Guadeloupe is still high season and still 80 to 85F most days. The forum's framing of the rain is that a forecast showing showers means very little here - they pop up at any time and seldom last an hour, often much less - though one March visitor had rain on three days of six, including a proper downpour, and still snorkelled at Malendure. Our row's 18.1 precipitation days carrying only 53.7mm is that pattern in figures. Two other things to know: sargassum runs March to October and varies hugely year to year, and the Basse-Terre beaches are bigger and quieter than Grande-Terre's but rougher. The record: 26.9C days that feel like 30C, 23.9C nights, 11.2 hours of sun and a 26.6C sea.