The world record for rainfall in one minute has been held by Guadeloupe for more than half a century! It is almost 40 millimeters. It was in 1970, in the Grands Fonds, in Le Gosier. Following the end of the 2024 hurricane season, which turned out to be very humid in the archipelago, this record, independent of the will of Guadeloupeans, reasons…
The 2024 hurricane season has somewhat spared Guadeloupe, given the numerous tragedies and immeasurable damage to deplore in the neighboring territories of the Antilles, the Caribbean and the South-East of the United States.
However, the archipelago knows a lot about it, not only with regard to cyclones, but also for all types of bad weather. This is how the territory holds a surprising record: that of the volume of rain falling in the space of one minute.
Did you know: there are world records for rain per year, per month, per day. Along the same lines, there is also a world record for rain per minute. And this one has been held by Guadeloupe… for more than half a century! No country since then has received so much water from the sky in such a short time. A reality which testifies to the exceptional side of this rainy episode, never equaled anywhere else on the planet.
Indeed, 54 years ago, on November 26, 1970, in the Grands Funds region, on the territory of the commune of Gosier, the local weather had panicked all the measuring devices. It was a Thursday, between 11 a.m. and noon.
That day, more than 38 millimeters of rain fell in 60 seconds; and specialists speak of a possible higher intensity of 5 to 10%. The heavy downpour had lasted almost an hour in total.
The system set up a few months earlier, at the Barot section, near Port Blanc, made it possible to measure this world record.
Interviewed at the time, local residents spoke of a real deluge and remembered the crash of water drops on the tin roofs, as well as the spectacular flow that covered the ground, even along steep slopes, in the hilly area. of the Great Funds.
On November 26, 1970, a resident was swept away by the waves.
The memory of this rainy episode is maintained by the Hydrological Service of the Overseas Scientific and Technical Research Office (ORSTOM).
