SPI Monitor March 2015

SPI Discussion March 2015

March 2015

Mixed conditions existed in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for the month. Trinidad, Tobago and St. Lucia were normal; Grenada and St. Vincent slightly wet; Barbados moderate to very wet; Dominica, Anguilla and St. Croix moderately dry; Antigua severely dry; St. Kitts slightly dry; St. Maarten extremely dry; and Guyana extremely wet in the north to normal in the east. Aruba was very wet but Puerto Rico normal. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from normal in the west to moderately dry in the east, while in Jamaica they ranged from moderately wet in the west to extremely wet in the east. Grand Cayman was slightly wet. Rainfall totals in Cuba varied from the normal to below normal west to the normal to above normal east. Belize totals ranged from normal in the south to moderately wet in the north.

January to March 2015

SPI January to March 2015For the three month period in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana, there is a clear distinction between the normal to below normal north and the normal to above normal south. Trinidad, Tobago and St. Lucia were normal; Grenada and Barbados moderately wet; St. Vincent slightly wet; Dominica, St. Kitts and St. Croix moderately dry; Antigua and Anguilla severely dry; St. Maarten exceptionally dry; and Guyana moderately wet in the north to normal in the southeast. Aruba was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from very wet in the west to slightly wet in the east, but the Dominican Republic was from normal in the west to extremely wet in the east. Belize, Cuba and Grand Cayman were normal, and so too was Jamaica apart from the extreme south that was slightly wet.

October 2014 to March 2015

SPI October 2014 to March 2015Mixed conditions characterized the rainfall totals for the six month period in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, St. Croix and St. Maarten were normal; Tobago very wet; Grenada slightly wet; Barbados and Anguilla moderately wet; St. Lucia moderately dry; Dominica extremely dry; and Guyana very wet in the north to normal in the south. Aruba and the Dominican Republic were normal, but Puerto Rico was slightly wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to moderately dry in the east. Grand Cayman was slightly dry, but apart from the central parts of Cuba that had similar conditions Cuba was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from normal for the southern half of the country to moderately wet in the north.

April 2014 to March 2015

SPI April 2014 to March 2015The islands of the eastern Caribbean were dominated by normal to below normal rainfall for the twelve month period. Trinidad was moderate to extremely dry; Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Antigua moderately dry; and Dominica exceptionally dry. Rainfall in Guyana ranged from extremely wet in the north to moderately dry in the south. Aruba was slightly dry, while Puerto Rico was slight to moderately wet. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately dry in the south to normal in the north, but for Jamaica they were from slightly wet in the west to moderately dry in the east. Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Normal to severely dry conditions existed over Cuba, while over Belize these were from moderately dry in the south to slightly wet in the north.

 

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided with the understanding that The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the Outlook. The information may be used freely by the public with appropriate acknowledgement of its source, but shall not be modified in content and then presented as original material.

The maps produced used SPI values calculated from monthly rainfall totals from land stations and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Only land station data is used for the eastern Caribbean, described here as from Georgetown, Guyana in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Greater (and Western) Antilles is less represented by land stations. However efforts are being made to include more land stations from that part of the region. Note that the severity implied by the index is relative to what is normal for that period of consideration. Normal in the drier season reflects less rainfall than in the wetter season.

SPI February 2015

SPI Monitor February 2015

SPI Discussion February 2015

February 2015

Apart from Barbados that was moderately wet and St. Maarten that was moderately dry, normal to slightly dry conditions predominated in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad and Guyana were normal to slightly wet; Tobago, Dominica and Antigua slightly dry; Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal. Aruba was moderately dry, but Puerto Rico slight to moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the west to normal in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Apart from the eastern extremities of Cuba that were slightly wet, Cuba was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from normal in the south to extremely dry in the north.

December 2014 to February 2015

SPI December 2014 to February 2015For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent and Antigua were normal; Barbados and St. Vincent slightly dry; St. Lucia and St. Maarten severely dry; Dominica, St. Kitts and Anguilla moderately dry; St. Croix slightly wet; and Guyana predominantly normal, but slightly wet in the northwest. Aruba was normal but Puerto Rico slightly wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the west to slightly dry in the east, but Grand Cayman was normal. Cuba was predominantly normal, while Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to moderately wet in the north.

September 2014 to February 2015

SPI September 2014 to February 2015Conditions were contrasting between the Windward Islands and the rest of the eastern island chain for the six month period. Trinidad and Anguilla were slightly wet; Tobago and Grenada moderately wet; Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent and St. Lucia slightly dry; and Dominica extremely dry. Conditions in Guyana ranged from moderately wet in the north to normal southward. Aruba was normal but Puerto Rico moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to severely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Cuba was normal to slightly dry, while conditions in Belize ranged from normal to very wet.

March 2014 to January 2015

SPI March 2014 to February 2015Normal to below normal conditions dominated the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Anguilla, St. Croix and St. Maarten were normal; St. Vincent and Antigua moderately dry; St. Lucia severely dry; Dominica exceptionally dry; and St. Kitts slightly dry. Conditions in Guyana ranged from extremely wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was slightly dry, but Puerto Rico slightly wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to severely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Central areas of Cuba were slight to severely dry, while the western and eastern areas were normal to slightly dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west and south to normal in the north.

 

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided with the understanding that The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the Outlook. The information may be used freely by the public with appropriate acknowledgement of its source, but shall not be modified in content and then presented as original material.

The maps produced used SPI values calculated from monthly rainfall totals from land stations and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Only land station data is used for the eastern Caribbean, described here as from Georgetown, Guyana in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Greater (and Western) Antilles is less represented by land stations. However efforts are being made to include more land stations from that part of the region. Note that the severity implied by the index is relative to what is normal for that period of consideration. Normal in the drier season reflects less rainfall than in the wetter season.

 

SPI January 2015

SPI Monitor January 2015

SPI Discussion January 2015

January 2015

Contrasting conditions were experienced between the northern and southern islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad and St. Vincent were mildly wet; Tobago moderately wet; Grenada very wet; Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts normal; Antigua slightly dry; Anguilla extremely dry; St. Maarten and St. Croix moderately dry. Conditions in Guyana ranged from moderately wet in the northwest to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was moderately dry, but Puerto Rico was moderate to very wet. Jamaica was moderately wet, while Grand Cayman was normal. The western half of Cuba was normal to moderately wet, while the eastern half was normal to moderately dry. Belize was predominantly normal apart from its western extremities that were mildly wet.

November 2014 to January 2015

SPI_3Jan2015Apart from in the vicinity of Dominica that was moderately dry, rainfall in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana was normal to above normal for the three month period. Trinidad was mild to moderately wet; Tobago extremely wet; Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts normal; Anguilla and St. Croix moderately wet; St. Maarten mildly wet; and Guyana ranging from very wet in the north to normal further south. Aruba was mildly dry, but Puerto Rico moderately wet. Eastern portions of Jamaica were mild to moderately dry, but the majority of the island was normal. Grand Cayman was mildly dry. Apart from some western and central areas that were mild to moderately wet and mildly dry respectively, Cuba was predominantly normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from mildly dry in the south to moderately wet in the north.

August 2014 to January 2015

SPI_6Jan2015For the six month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, St. Croix and Anguilla were mildly wet; Tobago and Grenada moderately wet; Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Maarten normal; Dominica extremely dry; and Guyana ranging from moderately wet in the northwest to normal in the east. Aruba was normal while Puerto Rico was moderate to very wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to severely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Apart from some central and eastern portions of the island that were mild to moderately dry, Cuba was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from normal in the south to moderately wet in the north.

February 2014 to January 2015

SPI_12Jan2015Mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for the period. Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix were normal; St. Vincent and St. Lucia severely dry; Dominica exceptionally dry; Antigua moderately dry; St. Kitts mildly dry; and Guyana ranging from extremely wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was mildly dry, but Puerto Rico was mild to moderately wet. Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the west to moderately dry in the east, but Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Apart from mild to moderately dry central areas, Cuba was predominantly normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west to mildly wet in the northeast.

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided with the understanding that The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the Outlook. The information may be used freely by the public with appropriate acknowledgement of its source, but shall not be modified in content and then presented as original material.

The maps produced used SPI values calculated from monthly rainfall totals from land stations and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Only land station data is used for the eastern Caribbean, described here as from Georgetown, Guyana in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Greater (and Western) Antilles is less represented by land stations. However efforts are being made to include more land stations from that part of the region. Note that the severity implied by the index is relative to what is normal for that period of consideration. Normal in the drier season reflects less rainfall than in the wetter season.