Published by : The Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Seru Mahuma z/n, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. http://www.meteo.an Table of Contents Year 2008 Global Temperature Ties as Eighth Warmest on Record. 3 Rainfall Outlook 2009. 4 Hurricane Season 2008. 5 ABC-Islands.. 15 Curaçao. 15 RAINFALL. 15 TEMPERATURE.. 16 WIND. 17 POTENTIAL WIND ENERGY.. 17 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.. 18 SUNSHINE DURATION. 18 GLOBAL RADIATION. 19 CLOUD COVERAGE. 19 Bonaire. 20 RAINFALL. 20 TEMPERATURE.. 20 WIND. 21 POTENTIAL WIND ENERGY.. 22 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.. 22 ARUBA. 23 RAINFALL. 23 TEMPERATURE.. 23 WIND. 24 POTENTIAL WIND ENERGY.. 25 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.. 25 SSS-ISLANDS.. 26 St. Maarten.. 26 RAINFALL . 26 TEMPERATURE.. 26 WIND. 27 POTENTIAL WIND ENERGY.. 28 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.. 28 SUNSHINE DURATION. 29 CLOUD COVERAGE. 29 EVAPORATION. 30 St. Eustatius. 31 RAINFALL. 31 TEMPERATURE.. 31 WIND. 32 POTENTIAL WIND ENERGY.. 32 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.. 33 Saba. 34 RAINFALL. 34 Climatological Summary in Tabular Form. 35 Track Map of 2008 Atlantic Tropical Cyclones. 37 Cover : Several significant weather events, like a few land spouts, affected the islands of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. 2 Year 2008 Global Temperature Ties as Eighth Warmest on Record The year 2008 tied with 2001 as the eighth warmest year on record for the Earth, based on the combined average of worldwide land and ocean surface temperatures through December. For December alone, the month also ranked as the eighth warmest globally, for the combined land and ocean surface temperature. The assessment is based on records dating back to 1880. Global Temperature Highlights The combined global land and ocean surface temperature from January-December was 0.49°C above the 20th Century average of 13.9°C Since 1880, the annual combined global land and ocean surface temperature has increased at a rate of 0.05°C per decade. This rate has increased to 0.16°C per decade over the past 30 years. Separately, the global land surface temperature for 2008, through December, was sixth warmest, with an average.