We have been watching Wunderground closely and we are in the clear! Hurricane Rina is bypassing Belize, the 2011 Belize hurricane season has been OK so far! http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201118.html
Today would be a great day to surf there, we talked to the dive shop and they report 10 foot waves!
We are closed in September and October because of hurricane season. Hurricane season officially starts sometime in June, but usually hurricanes don’t go as far south as Belize until September. This year was an exception, however, because we just had Harvey go over Glover’s Reef on August 20 of this year (no damage to our island , it never went beyond Tropical Storm status). But anyway, we are closed because if a hurricane did come during a trip, we would have to evacuate the group, and likely lose a great deal of money. A bad storm can really mess with us on Long Caye, we are on a tiny island (13 acres) WAY out in the middle of the ocean. (See this Belize map to see exactly where we are.) So we just avoid hurricane season altogether.
But still, every year I hear from numerous individuals wanting to visit Belize in September and October. If there is no hurricane, the weather still could be rainy, but then again, it also might be just fine. So I have some advice for people wanting to visit Belize in the Fall (well actually this advice would apply to anywhere in the Caribbean during hurricane season).
Possibly the best thing about visiting Belize in September and October is that it is the “off” season. Many places will be closed, but the ones that are open will likely have a special going on. So wherever you go, it will not be crowded, and it might be a really good deal.
Because it is the off-season, you don’t have to sign up early like you do for Christmas or Spring Break. So, what I recommend you do is just wait and watch the weather, especially if you wish to go to the sea. If you are planning to visit inland Belize, I would greatly temper this advice.
You can watch the hurricanes as they form off of Africa and see the storm track for each storm. This is what we do all summer long (welcome to my world.) We usually know at least 2 weeks in advance if a storm is going to head toward Belize. Obviously no one knows ultimately where a storm is going to end up making landfall, but you can get a very good idea if a storm is going to turn north right away and just go through the mid-Atlantic, or if it is projected to stay south and possibly head toward Belize.
Our favorite site is Wunderground, the most useful tropical hurricane site that we use regularly. If you go there now, and scroll to below the world map, you can see the 3 active storms and what their projected tracks are. In fact, going within the next two weeks would be a very good idea!
And finally, if you want to visit Belize in September and October, buy trip insurance! Because even the best laid plans can go awry.
