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Together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Island groups make up the Lucayan archipelago, the most northerly part of the West Indies, close to the Tropic of Cancer.
The forty-five islands, with their unspoiled beaches and warm waters are a tourist paradise. The weather in Turks and Caicos includes sunshine almost every day of the year some say visitors can expect 350 sunny days in the full 365!
According to enthusiasts, Turks and Caicos weather has the edge over some of the neighboring Caribbean islands in several ways. There is less rain, relatively low levels of humidity and temperatures that are hot, but not unbearably so, even in midsummer.
The weather in Turks and Caicos Islands is idyllic, with winter lows of about 17°C (60°F) and summer highs around 31°C (90°F). A typical temperature for the larger part of the year is somewhere in the range 25-28°C.
The temperatures are relatively constant through the seasons. An advantage claimed for the Caicos and Turks Islands, as opposed to the neighboring Bahamas, is that the former do not experience cold snaps in winter and spring.
The trade winds keep the peak temperatures in the Turks and Caicos Islands weather down most of the time, but in summer it is occasionally possible to encounter far higher temperatures, up to 38°F (100°F), though this is far from typical of the generally more balmy and moderate weather.
The average rainfall in the Turks and Caicos Islands is low and, unusually, peak rainy times do not correlate with summertime, as in many Caribbean destinations. Most of the rain falls between September and December (more in November and December), though rain does fall throughout the year. However many falls are little more than short-lived, light showers.
It is worth noting that there is considerable variation in rainfall, depending upon the island. Though an average figure of about 20 inches (500 mm) of rain per annum is often quoted, that varies with location.
Providenciales, home to the principal urban center, and other western islands, have higher rainfall, up to 40 inches (1000 mm) a year on average. In the east, the islands of South Caicos and Grand Turk have an average rainfall approximately half that figure.
All the Caribbean islands, except for Trinidad and Tobago and a handful of others, lie in the Atlantic hurricane belt and are prone to seasonally violent weather, with destructive tropical storms at one end of the spectrum and lethal hurricanes at the other.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are no exception. Though Hurricane Frances narrowly missed the islands in 2004, the islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay were battered by Hurricanes Hanna (Category 1) and Ike (Category 4) in 2008, though without fatalities.
As you can see, Turks and Caicos weather provides plenty of sun (and plenty of fun) for your next Caribbean islands vacation!