If you are planning a cruise or will be sailing during the month of January check out what weather to expect in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico January
Wind
Over the Caribbean Sea during January winds tend to be mostly from the east or northeast averaging forces 4-5 (11-21 knots). Over the Gulf of Mexico winds tend to be more variable but still averaging mostly forces 4-5 (11-21 knots). The risk for gale force (34 knots) or higher winds is low, generally 1 % or less, except for the waters off Colombia where the risk is 2%. Over the western Gulf of Mexico the gale risk is 3%, due mostly to strong winds associated with winter cold fronts. The Northerlies, associated with strong cold fronts, can briefly produce winds of 30 knots or more, especially over the northwestern Gulf.
Waves
The risk of encountering rough 8 foot (about 2.5 meters) or higher waves is about 10-15% over the Gulf of Mexico, 10-20% over the eastern and northwestern Caribbean but increases 20-45% over the central Caribbean Sea. The highest risk is concentrated over southwestern Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Colombian coast.
Temperature
Air temperatures over most of the Caribbean Sea average around 77-79 F (25-26 C),however, the northwestern-most section tends to be a bit cooler averaging near 75-77 F (24-25 C). Over the Gulf of Mexico there is a much greater range in temperatures from 68-75 F (20-24 C) over the southern Gulf to 59-66 F (15-19 C) over the northern Gulf where cold northerly winds associated with cold fronts can drop temperatures by 18-27 F (10-15 C) within a 24 hour period.
Atlas Pilot Chart Caribbean and Gulf Mexico air temperature (C) and pressure in mb for January
Sea Temperature
Sea surface temperatures will average 79-81 F (26-27 C) for most of the Caribbean Sea during January. In the Gulf of Mexico, however, sea surface temperatures can vary quite a bit ranging from 64-72 F (18-22 C) over the northwestern Gulf, 72-75 F (22-24C) over the southwestern Gulf, and 75-79 F (24-26C) over the southeastern Gulf.
Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones are very rare during January, limited only to about 1 % for the easternmost portion of the Caribbean Sea.
Atlas Pilot Chart Caribbean and Gulf Mexico sea temperature and tropical cyclone risk for January
Fred,
I recently purchased an Aquila 44 power catamaran moving it from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Destin, FL. My past experience has been with trawler yachts, a Nordhavn 55 and a North Pacific 49. My Nordhavn experience included a 63 day 24/7 cruise from Dana Point, CA to the Apostle Islands in MN via the Panama Canal, Caribbean, US east coast, Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence River and Seaway and Great Lakes.
My wife only accompanied me on a few of the legs. She is pretty much a “fair weather” cruiser.
OK, to my point. We HOPE to go from Destin, FL to the BVI in January, 2025, a cruise of approximately 1600 nm. We will have guests joining on February 1 so that is a constraint. Otherwise we will take as much time as necessary to get from Destin to Tortola in January. I will have a “mate” along also, supplied by a yacht management company out of Destin.
I have found very little information on power boat cruising in January for the southern Bahamas, north or south sides of the Greater Antilles, and the Virgin Islands. Can you share with me your thoughts on that cruise? In a perfect world we would cruise about twelve hours a day starting in the dark and ending up in a marina before sunset, with calm seas. However, that is unlikely.
I know we will have the Trade Winds in our face almost the entire journey, but what about the sea conditions? My concern is mostly for my wife.
SO, likely sea state? Will conditions be better through the nighttime hours? Will the best conditions tend to be a few days apart or non-existent?
Can you point me toward some references? Perhaps you have some available. I would be more than happy to pay for your time or services.
Thank you,
Grant Jonsson