What’s Been Going On Lately in the Dominican Republic
Over recent months, we experienced above average rainfall and lower nighttime temperatures. May welcomes a return to seasonal norms.
What a rough patch of unseasonal weather we just went through here in the Dominican Republic.
I personally don’t have allergies, but whatever was in the air was creating allergy-like symptoms. For myself, it lasted a couple of months.
At first I thought it was, as they say, dust from the Sahara, or maybe unnoticed mold. The weather was unusually cooler than normal around this time of the year too.
While picking up allergy pills, I asked the pharmacist about it. She said they’re seeing more people than usual coming in for this same reason.
I was sure that I wasn’t alone, and she confirmed that many are going through the same thing.
I often joke and say that I’m allergic to the cold, and I’m beginning to believe that maybe it’s true.
Here on the North coast, the weather has been non-stop rain and cold-like nights. It is Caribbean cold, nothing like minus temperatures, but you get my drift.
Usually, the rain has been in the late night when everyone is well asleep. The thunderstorms are blaring, being so loud that it overtakes any other sounds.
Many times these heavy storms cause power outages, usually lasting for a few minutes or so, and the odd time for hours.
The TV is the worst for handling power going off and on, which caused mine to break down again.
It came to my attention later that many parts of the island were experiencing constant rain also. From looking at the images, the capital city, Santo Domingo, got it very bad.
In some streets where water doesn’t flow out and instead gathers, there were cars underwater.
It felt as if it rained almost every day of March and April. The weather around that time is usually hot and relatively dry.
Thankfully, the month of May so far has been hot and sunny with little to no rain. It looks to be back to seasonal.
Living in the Caribbean, you’ll realize fast how important the balance of wet and dry is. You need both.
After the rain comes the shine, and a forecast of 91°F to 93°F (33°C to 34°C).
Put up the quilt covers, joggers and light sweaters until next January or so, and bring out the summer blankets.
This heat was late. Last year around this time it was far more humid.
During the hotter months, more fans and dehumidifiers are used, usually costing an extra 200 pesos ($3.39 USD) per month on the electric bill.
One of the best parts about it being May in the Dominican Republic is what locals call “Tiempo de Mangos,” the peak high season for mangos. Many fruits, exotic fruits, are starting to become more available now.
Nothing beats that Caribbean breeze blowing in through the home while eating a fruit salad and watching a good program.
It reminds me of getting this TV fixed. Last time it cost around $20 (USD).
That’s the good thing about electronics here: excellent prices to fix, even if they cost too much to buy.
Folks, you can’t win in everything lol.
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