Weather in the Dominican Republic varies very slightly throughout the year. The Dominican Republic enjoys a year round privileged tropical maritime climate. Sea breezes refresh the insular territory evening out temperatures to average 23ªC in the early mornings and 32ªC at noon, all year round. The lowest temperatures occur in the mountain areas near Constanza and the Cordillera Central mountain range (Valle Nuevo and Pico Duarte), where temperatures below freezing point have been registered, though record highs have been registered at the frontier with Haiti, at 39ªC in the summer. But even in the mountain cities, like Jarabacoa and Constanza, the average temperature ranges from 18-28C (66-84F).

Unless there is a rare tropical wave or storm in the vicinity, the 300+ day forecast for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, in general, is ''partly sunny or partly cloudy with a possibility of a brief shower,'' with temperatures around 26-27C (80-84F) all year.

May through November is regarded as the “rainy season.” It rains more frequently on the North Coast than in the South, and the East Coast is the driest. Only very occasionally will a storm be passing by that will bring more than an afternoon of rain. The most common forecast is: partly cloudy with a chance of short showers. The El Niño and El Niña currents bring longer periods of drought and rain.

December through April are the “cooler” months, when the temperature may descend to 18C (66F) on February mornings. Noon temperatures on those same days are usually up to 28C (83F). March through April are the breezy months, time for flying kites. May through June is historically the wettest time of the year, but the El Niño and La Niña phenomena have altered these patterns. The most common weather forecast nationwide continues to be “partly cloudy or partly sunny with a chance of a short shower.” Note that it is more likely to rain in the afternoons than in the mornings.

August through September is the peak of the hurricane season for the Caribbean. Caribbean hurricanes in June and July are rare because the waters are not warm enough to generate the appropriate conditions for strong storms to develop.

The hurricane season lasts from June through November, with August-September being the peak months. Hurricanes are rare events. Historically, big hurricanes have been widely spaced out through the years, and for the most part have hit the less populated southwestern and western coasts of the Dominican Republic. The USA Today newspaper mentions the DR as having a lower possibility of being affected by a hurricane than Antigua, Jamaica, Bahamas, U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.

August and September are also the two hottest months of the year, with temperatures peaking at 32-34C (90-94F).

October through November used to be the wettest months of the year, but weather patterns have changed this. Rainstorms in the Caribbean are not like rainstorms in northern latitudes. In the Caribbean, they usually last less than five minutes and then the sun shines again. While many Dominican pedestrians have their umbrellas, Dominicans do not own raincoats, they just step under an over hang, and wait for the rain to pass.

Take note that most of the rain occurs at sunrise, late in the afternoon or at night. Unless there is a cold front in the area, the average temperature island-wide will be around 80-82F (26-27C), and the weather changes only slightly from season to season in the DR. Also, average year round temperature on the coasts ranges from 25-34C (77-93F).