The 2022 Wet Season has been declared by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) following rainfall activity associated with the passage of a Tropical Wave on Sunday, May 15th, 2022 into Monday, May 16th, 2022. We’ve been tracking this tropical wave since May 8th, 2022, which moved across T&T, bringing scattered moderate rainfall and gusty winds.
This marks the 9th year in a row the TTMS has declared the Wet Season in the month of May. The Wet Season typically runs from June through December.
According to the TTMS, although this Tropical Wave was the fourth wave they tracked that moved off the west coast of Africa and traversed the Tropical Atlantic, it is the first one to affect Trinidad and Tobago. They added, “As of 8:00 AM, Monday, May 16th, 2022, the month of May has yielded rainfall totals of 28.5 millimeters which amounts to 23% of the average total rainfall of 124 millimeters for May.”
At this time, there are no Tropical Waves over the Tropical Atlantic so no wave activity is expected for at least the next week or so. Currently, the ITCZ remains south of latitude 5N, but is expected to gradually migrate northward as the month progresses.
There is no fixed date for the beginning of the wet season. Historically, April into May are the transitional months into a wetter climate. The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service will officially declare the start of the annual wet season once one of two features move across Trinidad and Tobago, triggering rainfall.
Climatologically, Trinidad and Tobago’s wet season can extend into December before completely transitioning into the Dry Season in January. Please be reminded that the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially starts from June 1st and extends until November 30th and usually falls within Trinidad and Tobago’s Wet Season.
