I’m reporting to you today about an absolutely blissful RAINY morning on St. John! Admittedly, Teddy and I have been in Puerto Rico for the past few days, getting Asante all tucked into her dry slip for hurricane season. And, I have been absolutely reveling at the amount of rain we have received here and how GREEN everything is. And every time a drop falls, I think to myself, “Man, I hope St. John is getting some of this!” As, when we left on Saturday, things were so, so dry! Green with envy you might say I have been 🙂 Well, the residents and visitors of Love City woke this morning to rain pouring from the sky…Several reports even cited thunder and lightning! And over the past 24 hours we have received .41 inches of rain with more on the way. Which should get us well on our way to greening up those beautiful mountainsides again.
According to the St. John VI Weather Page, St. John received only 1.81 inches of rain over the past month and only 11.57 inches this year. Which is WAY under our average annual rainfall of anywhere between 25 and 45 inches per year. Now, our dry season, which usually starts around April, is typically wrapping up around this time. But in ten years on St. John, this is only the second time I have seen it as dry and brittle as it has been this year. It seemed like even the beautiful Flamboyant trees were having a tough time coming into full summertime bloom up until a week or two ago. Maybe that was the lack of rain or maybe it was the hungry and thirsty iguanas…Either way its a product of the drought.
Although we are super excited about this week’s rainfall, don’t put your rain dancing galoshes away just yet. We have a long way to go to get the flora and fauna of Love City back to peak hydration levels! But, when the rain starts to fall for the first time each summer, it is always a relief and reason to rejoice. Our cisterns are filling, the birds and the donkeys are taking a big old sip of fresh water and the lush green and brightly flowered tropical backdrop of St. John will finally start to show its face in the upcoming sunshine again. To those of you who are visiting right now, don’t be afraid to head into the watering hole of your choice for some lunch libations today. Rainy days like this are often the best time to mingle with the “local wildlife” in town. Boat trips and beach days are canceled today…early happy hour it is!
Oh, and if you get a break in the rain over the next few days, definitely head to the Petroglyph pool on the Reef Bay Trail! The waterfall may be doing its beautiful thing if this precipitation keeps up!
So, this morning, seeing reports of thunder and lightning and pouring down rain and even puddles on St. John made my heart sing happy and do a little grateful for the rain dance. We are going to spend a weekend of vacay in the “big city” (Old San Juan) before heading back to St. John, rested and rejuvenated, on Sunday evening…And I’m so excited to take in the slowly greening hillsides from our sunset ferry ride home.
Keep an eye on the weather at the ferry dock on the St. John Spice webcam…And you might even see us bopping off the 7PM boat on Sunday as well 🙂
Happy for you! It has been dry and crunchy here on the East Coast of the mainland US as well. It’s such a good feeling when the rain finally comes!
Not sure where you got “average” of 25-45 inches a year.
Average would be 45 inches, across the island. Drier areas may average 40, wetter sections 50 or slightly above. In my lifetime, I’ve only seen two years with 25 inches or less.