Weather in March in Mauritius 2011

by Christine
(Leeds)

Hi,
We are going to Mauritius in 2 weeks and know that the weather will be very warm - which we love - but also that it is the rainiest time to go - should we expect rain every day? Is it normally very heavy?

Thanks

Christine

Jeff's response:

Dear Christine,
Thanks for your question.

Since you're arriving in mid-March you're unlikely to see rain everyday if you stay along the western coastline. However, it's quite possible that there will be plenty of local afternoon or evening shower/thunderstorm activity over the other parts of Mauritius. But don't be too concerned about the rain since it generally doesn't last too long but do make sure you bring an umbrella since it's impossible to dodge those large Mauritian raindrops.

Most of this rain occurs between 2-6pm (local Mauritian time) and is generally heavy for a short period of time (1-2 hours). If there has already been one thunderstorm during the afternoon then it's unlikely that there will be another one until the next day at that location.

If you're driving around a lot during the afternoon, then you're likely to encounter so-called dry areas where it hasn't rained at all. This is quite common on the west coast and is associated with the rain-shadow effect.

The only time rain lasts for more than 12 hours is when there's a tropical disturbance such as a tropical cyclone near Mauritius.

Hopefully, this won't occur when you're there.