The dry season (February–April) is the most comfortable time for hiking — trails are firmer, rivers lower, and humidity slightly reduced. Temperatures sit around 27–30°C all year. The wet season (June–November) overlaps with the Atlantic hurricane belt; Dominica is vulnerable to major storms (Hurricane Maria in 2017 devastated the island) and travellers should monitor forecasts in September and October.
The big cultural event is the World Creole Music Festival held over the last weekend of October — three nights of zouk, bouyon and cadence-lypso at Windsor Park, with bands from across the French and English Caribbean. Carnaval, in the days before Lent, is smaller and more local than its Trinidadian cousin but full of life.