Kingston climate
Kingston (Jamaica) has a tropical savanna (dry winter) climate (Köppen Aw). The average temperature over the year is 27 °C81 °F, and about 926 mm36 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Kingston climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2882 | 2475 | 2679 | 331.3 |
| Feb | 2883 | 2475 | 2679 | 190.7 |
| Mar | 2984 | 2476 | 2780 | 291.1 |
| Apr | 3086 | 2577 | 2781 | 411.6 |
| May | 3086 | 2679 | 2882 | 1114.4 |
| Jun | 3085 | 2680 | 2882 | 893.5 |
| Jul | 3086 | 2780 | 2883 | 692.7 |
| Aug | 3086 | 2781 | 2983 | 1034.1 |
| Sep | 3086 | 2780 | 2883 | 1275.0 |
| Oct | 2985 | 2780 | 2882 | 1706.7 |
| Nov | 2984 | 2678 | 2781 | 873.4 |
| Dec | 2883 | 2577 | 2780 | 491.9 |
| Year | 3086 | 2475 | 2781 | 92636 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 75% | 40% | 4.6 | 11:09 |
| Feb | 73% | 32% | 5.4 | 11:32 |
| Mar | 70% | 33% | 6.1 | 11:00 |
| Apr | 71% | 38% | 6.5 | 12:32 |
| May | 75% | 55% | 6.1 | 12:58 |
| Jun | 79% | 61% | 6.1 | 13:12 |
| Jul | 78% | 50% | 6.4 | 13:06 |
| Aug | 78% | 53% | 6.1 | 12:44 |
| Sep | 78% | 59% | 5.8 | 12:13 |
| Oct | 79% | 63% | 4.9 | 11:42 |
| Nov | 78% | 52% | 4.5 | 11:16 |
| Dec | 77% | 44% | 4.3 | 11:03 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Kingston is like
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 30 °C86 °F and a low of 27 °C81 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 28 °C82 °F and lows 24 °C75 °F. Temperatures barely change through the year: the warmest and the coolest month differ by only 2.6 °C4.6 °F.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 926 mm36 in. The wettest three-month stretch is August–October, which brings 43% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: February. The wettest month is October (170 mm6.7 in), the driest is February (19 mm0.7 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 70% in March to 79% in October. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 32%) are typical of February. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 13 km/h (8 mph) in September to 20 km/h (12 mph) in June. Daylight lasts from about 11.1 hours in December to 13.2 hours in June.
Best time to visit Kingston
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are December–April: average highs of 28 °C82 °F to 30 °C86 °F with 19 mm0.7 in to 49 mm1.9 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is October, which is very wet (170 mm6.7 in) and humid (79% relative humidity).
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Kingston
- Wetter months (May and June, August–November) — highs 2984 to 30 °C86 °F, lows 2678 to 27 °C81 °F, about 115 mm4.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Drier months (December–April, July) — highs 2882 to 30 °C86 °F, lows 2475 to 27 °C80 °F, about 40 mm1.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Kingston compares
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Les Cayes (Haiti, Aw), Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis, Aw) and Charlotte Amalie (U.S. Virgin Islands, Aw).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Spanish Town (pop. 145,018) and Portmore (pop. 102,861). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Kingston, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Santiago de Cuba 247 km · 28 °C82 °F · 457 mm18 in
- Palma Soriano 260 km · 27 °C80 °F · 462 mm18 in
- Manzanillo 263 km · 28 °C82 °F · 629 mm25 in
- Bayamo 265 km · 27 °C81 °F · 629 mm25 in
- Guantánamo 291 km · 27 °C81 °F · 571 mm22 in
- Les Cayes 322 km · 28 °C82 °F · 797 mm31 in
- Holguín 326 km · 26 °C79 °F · 747 mm29 in
- Las Tunas 330 km · 27 °C80 °F · 802 mm32 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Kingston?
August is the warmest month in Kingston, with an average high of 30 °C (86 °F) and an average low of 27 °C (81 °F).
What is the coldest month in Kingston?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 28 °C (82 °F) and an average low of 24 °C (75 °F).
When does it rain the most in Kingston?
October is the wettest month with about 170 mm (6.7 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 19 mm (0.7 in).
What is the best time to visit Kingston?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are December–April.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 138 m, while Kingston lies at about 65 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +0.5 °C0.9 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.