Weather in Punta Cana

We have just returned from our third stay in Punta Cana. Although the weather has always been ideal in past years, with very low humidity and an occasional shower which gave way to sunshine in minutes, we experienced four days of rain out of eight from January 5th to 12th, 2001.We were in a slightly different part of the island this time, and since these rains are very local, we wondered if that accounted for the difference, or if the weather has changed in the Dominican Republic, as it has in most other areas of the world. Can you give us any information on this subject? Your information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.