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

For 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

Conditions 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

Normal 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 Discussion December 2014

December 2014

Mixed conditions prevailed in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for the month, with the south being normal to below normal and the north normal to above normal. Trinidad, Tobago, Antigua, St. Kitts and Anguilla were normal; Grenada and Dominica moderately dry; Barbados and St. Vincent extremely dry; St. Lucia exceptionally dry; St. Maarten abnormally dry; St. Croix moderately wet; and Guyana ranging from abnormally wet in the northwest to moderately dry in the east. Both Aruba and Puerto Rico were normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to normal in the east, while Grand Cayman was normal. Though predominantly normal, there were below normal conditions in the west and above normal in the east in Cuba. In Belize the range was from moderately dry in the south to extremely wet in the north.

October to December 2014

For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts were normal; Tobago very wet; Barbados and St. Croix abnormally wet; St. Vincent abnormally dry; Dominica extremely dry; Anguilla and St. Maarten moderately wet; and Guyana from very wet in the north to normal in the south. Both Aruba and Puerto Rico were normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was abnormally dry. Apart from some central areas that were abnormally dry, Cuba was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from normal in the south to moderately wet in the north.

July to December 2014

Mixed conditions prevailed in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for the six month period. Trinidad was very to abnormally dry, Tobago moderately wet; Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent moderately dry; St. Lucia abnormally dry; Dominica extremely dry; and Guyana ranging from extremely wet in the north to normal in the south. Aruba was normal, but Puerto Rico abnormal to moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from abnormally wet in the west to severely dry in the east, but Grand Cayman moderately dry. Normal to severely dry conditions were experienced in Cuba. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to moderately wet in the north.

January to December 2014

Normal to below normal rainfall was experienced in 2014 in the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad was severe to moderately dry; Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent severely dry; St. Lucia and Antigua moderately dry; and St. Kitts abnormally dry. In Guyana, the year ranged from extremely wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was abnormally dry, but Puerto Rico normal to abnormally wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Apart from west central areas that were abnormal to moderately dry, Cuba was normal. Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to normal in the north.