Jamaica Hurricane Season: Dates, Risks and Resort Policies

Hurricane season in Jamaica runs from June 1 to November 30, the official Atlantic season set by the US National Hurricane Center. Most years, most visitors never see a storm. But Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall on October 28, 2025 as the strongest hurricane on record to hit Jamaica, is a reminder that the risk is real. This guide covers when the risk is highest, what Melissa did, what resort hurricane policies actually promise, how insurance fits in, and where Jamaicans get their storm alerts.

When is hurricane season in Jamaica?

The Atlantic hurricane season covers the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf. Storms sometimes form outside its June-to-November dates, but rarely. Within the season, the risk isn’t spread evenly:

• June and July: quieter. In an average season the first named storm forms around June 20, and the first hurricane not until around August 11, based on the NHC’s 1991–2020 averages. Early storms do happen: Hurricane Beryl passed 15 to 20 nautical miles off Jamaica’s south coast on July 3, 2024, bringing hurricane conditions to parts of the south coast, the NHC reported.
• Mid-August to mid-October: the heart of the season. The NHC puts the statistical peak on September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October.
• Late October and November: activity tapers off, but late storms happen. Melissa hit at the end of October.

An average Atlantic season has 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger), the NHC says. That’s across the whole basin; most of them never come near Jamaica. Tropical storms that don’t become hurricanes can still bring days of heavy rain, flooding and landslides, especially in the hills. For what the rain does month by month, see my Jamaica weather guide.

What Hurricane Melissa did

The facts here come from the National Hurricane Center’s official report on Melissa, last updated May 19, 2026.

• Landfall: Melissa made landfall near New Hope in Westmoreland around midday on October 28, 2025, with estimated maximum sustained winds of 160 knots (about 185 mph), a Category 5. It’s the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in Jamaica, and tied for the strongest landfall on record in the Atlantic basin.
• Path: it crossed the mountains of western Jamaica and came off the north coast as a Category 3 a few hours later.
• Worst-hit areas: the parishes under the hurricane’s core were St. Elizabeth, St. James, Trelawny, Westmoreland, Hanover and Manchester, where structural damage was extreme and widespread. Coastal towns including New Hope, Crawford and Black River were hit especially hard.
• Storm surge: estimated at 7 to 11 feet above normally dry ground around Crawford and Black River, and 2 to 4 feet near Montego Bay and Falmouth.
• Rain: more than 32 inches (800 mm) in places in the interior highlands, with flooding across the south and west and landslides in the Blue Mountains and western parishes.
• Lives and damage: Government officials reported 45 deaths in Jamaica. The World Bank estimated physical damage at US$12.2 billion as of March 2026, about 41 percent of Jamaica’s 2024 GDP.
• Warnings: Jamaica had unusually long notice. A tropical storm watch went up about seven days before landfall, and a hurricane warning about three days before.

Where things stand now

As of October 2026, the Jamaica Tourist Board says all of Jamaica’s international and domestic airports and cruise ports are operating. The UK Foreign Office says all western parishes suffered significant damage and that some communities are still without electricity and piped water. Most of the big resorts in Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios are open again, while some on the Rose Hall strip and around Montego Bay are still being rebuilt. My page on which Jamaica resorts are open now tracks every resort and attraction we cover, and changes as each guide is updated.

Should you travel during hurricane season?

My take: yes, if you plan for it. Plenty of Jamaicans living abroad fly home every summer, and June and July carry far less risk than September and October. Prices also tend to be lower through the season than in winter. What I wouldn’t do is put a date you can’t move, like a wedding, in September or October. If you want no hurricane risk at all, come between December and May.

Before you book a trip between June and November:

• Pick flexible rates and flights you can change.
• Read your resort’s hurricane policy before you pay (see below).
• Buy travel insurance when you book.
• Plan to watch the forecasts in the week before you fly.

Free Jamaica trip checklist

Want the printable version?

Get my free Jamaica trip checklist, then guides for the part of the island you're visiting.

Leave this empty

First name

Email address

When are you travelling? (optional)Choose…In the next 3 monthsIn 3–6 monthsIn 6–12 monthsNot sure yet

Get the checklist

Unsubscribe any time.

Resort hurricane policies

Policies differ a lot, and some are guarantees in name only. Here’s what the operators publish themselves, checked on October 8, 2026. Read the full wording on the operator’s site before you rely on any of it.

Couples Resorts

Couples, which runs four adults-only resorts in Negril and Ocho Rios, publishes a hurricane policy on its site. It applies when a storm has been declared a hurricane and the resort appears inside the forecast cone on the NOAA three-day tracking map. Couples posts advisories on its website and social channels naming the travel dates covered. In short:

• Arriving guests: penalties are waived, and you get a stay credit on the hotel-only part of your booking to come at a later date, at the rates then in force and subject to availability. You may have to pay the difference if the new dates cost more.
• Guests on property who leave early: penalties may be waived, with a stay credit for the unused nights.
• If the resort is damaged and closes: you can move to another open Couples resort at the same rate, or take a stay credit with the original rate guaranteed.
• Not covered: airline fees. The flight part of a package is non-refundable, and Couples says it has no legal obligation to compensate for a storm, so it recommends travel protection. That protection is offered only to US residents.

Island Outpost (GoldenEye, Strawberry Hill, The Caves)

Island Outpost, which runs GoldenEye in Oracabessa, Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains and The Caves in Negril, publishes a hurricane guarantee that applies when NOAA predicts a hurricane within 48 hours:

• Early departures: resort credit at the same property for unused nights, valid for a year, with no cash refunds.
• Stranded by flight delays: extra nights at the rate you booked.
• If the property has to close: unused nights are refunded to your original form of payment.
• Arriving guests who can’t get there: you can move your dates for the same number of nights at the same property, rate and room category, within a year, paying any difference if the new dates cost more.

Sandals and Beaches

Sandals’ booking terms say the hotel can suspend or limit facilities and activities because of weather, including hurricanes, and that guests aren’t entitled to compensation for that. If you’ve heard of a Sandals hurricane guarantee, ask Sandals or your travel agent for its current terms in writing before you rely on it: I couldn’t find them published on Sandals’ own site when I checked.

Every other resort

The Jamaica Tourist Board’s advice is to deal directly with your travel advisor, booking agent, airline and hotel on cancellations and rebooking. Ask four questions before you book: what triggers the policy (a hurricane watch, a warning, or the storm actually hitting), whether you get a refund or only a credit, how long the credit lasts, and whether flights are included.

Travel insurance

A resort credit won’t get your flights back or cover an extra hotel night if your flight home is canceled. That’s what travel insurance is for. The UK Foreign Office advises getting appropriate travel insurance for Jamaica.

• Buy it when you book. Policies set their own rules on when a storm is no longer covered, and a storm that’s already forming or named may count as a known event.
• Check that it covers trip cancellation and interruption for hurricanes, missed connections and extra nights if you’re stuck.
• Check medical and evacuation cover too, especially in the west, where the UK Foreign Office says access to healthcare is limited in the worst-hit areas.
• Credit cards sometimes include trip cover. Read what yours actually covers before you count on it.

How to follow hurricane alerts

For Jamaica, the official watches and warnings come from the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, working with the US National Hurricane Center. These are the sources Jamaicans watch:

• Meteorological Service of Jamaica: forecasts, radar, Smart Alerts and its Jamaica Weather app, plus updates on its social channels.
• US National Hurricane Center: the forecast cone, advisories and the tropical weather outlook for the whole Atlantic.
• ODPEM (the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management): shelter information, preparedness tips and emergency updates. Its toll-free line in Jamaica is 888-225-5637.
• Jamaica Tourist Board travel alerts: airport, port, hotel and attraction status after a storm.
• Your resort: it will tell you what to do on the property, and in a storm, follow its instructions and those of the local authorities.

What the warnings mean

The NHC defines a hurricane watch as hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or more) being possible in the area, issued 48 hours before tropical-storm-force winds are expected. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected, issued 36 hours ahead. Tropical storm watches and warnings work the same way for winds of 39 to 73 mph. If a warning goes up for Jamaica before you fly, call your airline and resort; if you’re already here, stay put at the resort unless told otherwise. The Jamaica Tourist Board says resort staff are trained for hurricanes, with early warning, evacuation and shelter plans in place.

If a storm is coming while you’re in Jamaica

• Keep your phone charged and some cash on hand, since power and card machines can go down.
• Stay off the roads once the weather turns. Flooded gullies and landslides are the real danger, even in a tropical storm.
• After the storm, stay out of floodwater. The Jamaica Tourist Board, citing the Ministry of Health and Wellness, warns about leptospirosis, which spreads through contaminated water.
• Read up on safety in Jamaica before you go, and keep your embassy’s contact details handy.

Ready to pick dates? My picks for the best all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica include only resorts that are open.