SPI Discussion November 2014

November 2014

Normal to above normal rainfall were experienced during the month in the islands of the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad was moderate to very wet; Tobago exceptionally wet; Grenada and Antigua abnormally wet; Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Croix moderately wet; Dominica, St. Kitts and Anguilla normal; and Guyana ranging from exceptionally wet in the north to very wet further south. Aruba was normal but Puerto Rico was very wet. Jamaica was normal but Grand Cayman moderately dry. Apart from small areas of abnormally dry and wet conditions, both Cuba and Belize were normal.

September to November 2014

For the three month period, mixed rainfall amounts were experienced across the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, Tobago and Barbados were moderately wet; Grenada very wet; St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Croix normal; Dominica severely dry; St. Kitts moderately dry; St. Maarten moderately wet; and Guyana very wet in the north and moderately wet further south. Aruba was normal but Puerto Rico was predominantly moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to extremely dry in the east, but Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Though having predominantly normal rainfall, some central and eastern areas of Cuba were abnormally dry. Belize was abnormally wet in the west and south but was moderately wet in the north.

June to November 2014

Diverse rainfall was experienced during the six month period in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry; Tobago abnormally wet; Grenada, Barbados, Anguilla, St, Maarten and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent and St. Kitts abnormally dry; Dominica extremely dry; and Guyana ranging from exceptionally wet in the north to normal in the south. Aruba was normal, while Puerto Rico was abnormally wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to severely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Normal to moderately dry conditions were experienced in Cuba. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the south to normal in the north.

December 2013 to November 2014

Mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for this period. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry, Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia and Anguilla normal; Grenada moderately wet; St. Vincent and St. Kitts moderately dry; Dominica extremely dry; St. Maarten and St. Croix abnormally wet; and Guyana ranging from exceptionally wet in the north and west to normal in the east. Aruba was abnormally dry, but Puerto Rico abnormal to moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to moderately dry in the east, but Grand Cayman was abnormally dry. Apart from west-central areas that were normal to moderately dry, Cuba was normal, while predominantly-normal Belize had some abnormally wet areas 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.