Lesser Antilles

Christopher Columbus, was the first European to discover the region during his search for a westward route to Asia, he mistakenly named the islands of the archipelago “the Indies”; and the region was subsequently generally known, particularly in the English-speaking world, as the West Indies to distinguish it from the East Indies, the name given to the Malay Archipelago. The title “West Indies” today is properly used only in specific contexts, such as the West Indies cricket team, the term “Caribbean” being used to describe the region.
The Lesser Antilles is a chain of islands that mark the Eastern border of the Caribbean and is divided into two, the leeward Island in the north and the Windward Islands to the south.
Tourism is the main industry of the islands along with agriculture with crops such as bananas, coconuts, pineapples etc.
In most of the Islands the currency is the Caribbean Dollar which is pegged to the US dollar, which is widely acceptable throughout the English speaking islands. There are many good marinas in the Caribbean and yachting tourism is growing every year.

The Leeward Islands
The Islands lie between latitudes 18° and 16° north and longitudes 61° and 65° west, and are bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. The islands are called the Leeward Islands because they are located on the lee, or opposite, side from the prevailing westerly trade winds, and are therefore sheltered. The principal islands and groups, running north to south, are the Virgin Islands (UK & US), Anguilla, Saint Martin, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe.

The Windward Islands
The Islands lie between approximately latitude 16° and 12° north and longitude 60° and 62° west. The principal islands, running north to south, are Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent, and Grenada; the Grenadines, a group of about 600 small islands, lie between St Vincent and Grenada. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago, to the south of Grenada, and Barbados, to the east of St Vincent, are not considered part of the Windward Islands.

Other Caribbean Groups 
The Great Antilles, of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola divided into the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The Bahamas, which include New Providence, Grand Bahamas and about 700 other islands.
The Dutch Antilles which include Aruba and Curaco.

Weather Underground www.wunderground.com  provide a hurricane tracking service click Tropical & Hurricane under Severe Weather tab