SPI Discussion April 2015

April 2015

The eastern Caribbean and Guyana were normal to below normal apart from St. Vincent and St. Lucia that were moderately wet. Trinidad, Tobago and St. Kitts were normal; Grenada, Antigua and Anguilla moderately dry; Barbados normal to slightly dry; Dominica extremely dry; St. Maarten and St. Croix slightly dry; and Guyana normal in the west and slightly dry in the east. Aruba was normal while Puerto Rico was normal to slightly dry. The Dominican Republic was predominantly normal, but conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to extremely dry in the east. Grand Cayman was slightly dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from severely dry in the south to slightly wet in the north.

February to April 2015

For the three month period, conditions were mixed over the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad and St. Kitts were slightly dry; Tobago and Grenada normal; Barbados slightly wet; St. Vincent moderately wet; St. Lucia normal to slightly wet; Dominica and Antigua severe to extremely dry; Anguilla extremely dry; St. Maarten exceptionally dry; St. Croix moderately dry; and Guyana slightly wet in the north to normal further south. Aruba was normal and Puerto Rico normal to slightly dry. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from slightly dry in the west to moderately wet in the east. Jamaica was slightly wet in the west and normal in the east, while Grand Cayman was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to normal in the north.

November 2014 to April 2015

Apart from the central portions of the eastern chain that saw Dominica experiencing extremely dry conditions, the eastern Caribbean and Guyana experienced normal to above normal rainfall for the six month period. Trinidad, Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Croix were slightly wet; Tobago moderately wet; Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, Anguilla and St. Maarten normal; and Guyana from moderately wet in the north to normal in the south. Aruba was normal while Puerto Rico was slightly wet. Apart from eastern portions of the county that were slightly wet, the Dominican Republic was normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to slightly dry in the east, but Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to moderately wet in the north.

May 2014 to April 2015

Normal to below normal conditions dominated the islands of the eastern Caribbean for the twelve month period. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry; Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent slightly dry; St. Lucia and Antigua moderately dry; and Dominica exceptionally dry. Conditions in Guyana ranged from very wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was slightly dry, but Puerto Rico slightly wet. The Dominican Republic was slight to moderately dry in the west and normal in the east. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to extremely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Conditions in Belize ranged 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.