What to Wear in San Juan in October

Pack for a summer that has not ended. NOAA NCEI's normals for San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín airport give October a high of 31.4°C and nights at 76.7°F, and nine or ten afternoons reach 90°F; in November fewer than two do. The rain eases for a month. October's 5.21 inches fall on about 18 days, less than any month from July to November, with September at 6.50 inches and November at 7.37. The storms have not gone, though. NOAA counts mid-August to mid-October as the heart of the Atlantic season, with 78% of its tropical-storm days and 96% of its major-hurricane days, so the first half of October is still inside it, and the season itself runs to 30 November. And the sea changes. Discover Puerto Rico puts the surf season from October to April, with powerful swells on the north coast, where San Juan's beaches are. So the suitcase is white linen for the heat, one black shell for the shower, sandals that can get wet, and a swimsuit that stays on in a wave.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Cobalt short-sleeve zip-front surf swimsuit

   October opens the swell season: Discover Puerto Rico puts the peak surf from October to April, with powerful swells on the north and west coasts, and San Juan's beaches face north. Short sleeves and a zip front keep the suit on when a wave knocks you over and cover your shoulders from a sun the Park Service calls strong. Read the Weather Service's rip-current risk before you go in, whatever the sky looks like.

2. 
   02

   White short-sleeve linen guayabera

   Nine or ten October afternoons reach 90°F on NOAA's normals for the airport, against fewer than two in November. Short sleeves, a camp collar and vented side seams let air through, four pockets carry a card and a phone without a bag, and white linen throws back the sun between the forts. Wear it loose over the swimsuit by day and over the white trousers at night.

3. 
   03

   White pleated linen wide-leg trousers

   For nights that hold at 77°F: an October night at the airport at 70°F or below is rare enough that NOAA's normals round it to zero. Wide linen legs keep air moving on a humid walk to dinner and cover you for the free weekday tour of La Fortaleza, which asks for appropriate dress. Pleats keep their shape after a day folded in a suitcase.

4. 
   04

   Cobalt cotton-poplin sleeveless shirt-dress, tie belt

   Your dinner dress for Old San Juan. Sleeveless poplin breathes on a 77°F night, a collar and button front look finished with flat sandals, and the tie belt lets you set the waist after a long lunch. Cobalt stands out against the old city's painted walls at sunset, which comes at about 6:13pm on 1 October and 5:52pm by the 31st.

5. 
   05

   Black hooded packable rain shell

   Rain falls on about 18 days in an average October, and only about one of them brings an inch or more, so most of it is a shower you can walk through. A drawcord hood handles one in the old city or on the PR-191 corridor into El Yunque, then the shell rolls into the tote. Pack it on a clear forecast too: the Atlantic hurricane season runs to 30 November.

6. 
   06

   Black EVA two-buckle sandals

   Waterproof from sole to strap. EVA takes a downpour, a beach and a wet street in the same afternoon and dries while you eat lunch, and a lugged sole holds better than smooth leather on the forts, where the Park Service warns of uneven, steep and slippery surfaces. Two buckles let you tighten them for the ramps.

7. 
   07

   Black ripstop-nylon zip tote

   A beach afternoon and a shower on the same day need one bag that holds the swimsuit, the rolled shell and a towel and shrugs off both. Ripstop nylon with a zip top keeps a phone dry, webbing handles go over a shoulder, and black hides wet sand. Keep a card in it for the forts: the Park Service's $10 pass, good for 24 hours at El Morro and San Cristóbal, is cashless.

8. 
   08

   Black raffia bucket hat, natural edge

   The Park Service recommends a hat and sunscreen for the tropical sun in Old San Juan, and at October's normal high of 31.4°C you want the shade. A deep bucket brim covers your face and the back of your neck, raffia lets heat out through the weave, and black ties it to the shell and the sandals. It packs flat in the tote.

A suggested look — white linen guayabera, white pleated wide-leg linen trousers, black two-buckle eva sandals, black raffia bucket hat.

What to avoid

• Dark, heavy fabric — about ten October afternoons reach 90°F
• A trip with no slack — early October is still in the hurricane peak
• A swim before checking the rip-current risk — the swell season starts in October
• Cash at El Morro — the $10 pass is card only
• El Yunque on a day of heavy rain — the Forest Service warns of flash floods