SPI Monitor December 2010

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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.

Discussion

December 2010

The majority of the eastern Caribbean, including Guyana, was near normal. The exceptions to this were Barbados that was moderately wet and St Kitts that was very wet. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from normal in the west to severely dry in the east, whilst Jamaica was normal in the west to very wet in the east. Cayman Islands was normal, whilst Belize was moderately dry in the south and normal in the north.

October 2009 to December 2010

For the three month period, conditions in the eastern Caribbean were varied. Trinidad, Grenada, Antigua and Anguilla were normal; whilst Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Kitts were very wet and Dominica moderately dry. St. Lucia was extremely wet. Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cayman islands and Belize were all normal.

July 2009 to December 2010

As with the three month period, conditions in the eastern Caribbean were varied for this period. Dominica and Anguilla were normal; whilst Grenada and Antigua were moderately wet, and Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and St. Kitts extremely wet. Trinidad was moderately wet in the west and normal in the east. Guyana was predominantly normal apart from the eastern and western outskirts that were moderately wet; so too was the Dominican Republic apart from the southern perimeter. Jamaica was very wet in the west and moderately wet in the east, whilst Cayman Islands was normal. Belize was predominantly normal.

January 2009 to December 2010

Even though the year began with severe drought conditions in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana particularly, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and St. Kitts ended up extremely wet for the year. Dominica and Antigua were moderately wet, whilst Grenada and Anguilla were normal. Trinidad was moderately wet in the west and normal in the east. Guyana, the Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands were normal for the year. Jamaica was very wet in the west and moderately wet in the east, whilst Belize was predominantly normal.

 

SPI Monitor November 2010

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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.

Discussion

November 2010

The majority of the Eastern Caribbean chain was near normal. However, both St. Vincent and St. Lucia were moderately wet and Antigua was moderately dry. Conditions in Trinidad ranged from normal to moderately wet and Guyana was generally normal except in the east that was moderately wet. The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Belize were normal, whilst the Cayman Islands was moderately dry

September 2009 to November 2010

For the three month period, Grenada and Barbados were very wet, whilst St. Vincent and St. Lucia were extremely wet. Dominica, Antigua and Anguilla were normal, whilst St. Kitts was moderately wet. As in the November, conditions in Trinidad and Guyana ranged from normal to moderately wet. Conditions in the Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands and Belize were normal. Jamaica was very wet in the west and moderately wet in the east.

June 2009 to November 2010

In the eastern Caribbean, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and St. Kitts were extremely wet for the six month period. Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Anguilla were moderately wet. Conditions in Trinidad and Guyana as well as the Dominican Republic ranged from normal to moderately wet. In Jamaica, conditions ranged from extremely wet in the west to normal in the east, whilst Cayman Islands was normal. In Belize rainfall ranged from normal in the north to very wet in the south.

December 2009 to November 2010

Grenada, Dominica and Anguilla were normal whilst St. Vincent and Barbados were very wet. St Lucia and St. Kitts were extremely wet, whilst Antigua was moderately wet. Conditions in Trinidad ranged from normal to moderately wet. Both Guyana and the Dominican Republic were normal. Jamaica was very wet, but Cayman Islands was normal. Apart from the northern and southern extremities that were moderately wet, Belize was normal.

SPI Monitor October 2010

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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.

Discussion

October 2010

Rainfall was very varied over the Caribbean for the month of October. Trinidad varied from normal to moderately dry, whilst Tobago and Grenada were normal. Both Barbados and St. Lucia were extremely wet, due mainly to the passage of Hurricane Tomas. Dominica was normal, whilst St. Vincent (also impacted by Hurricane Tomas), Antigua and Anguilla were moderately wet. Rainfall in Guyana was normal for the month. In the Dominican Republic conditions were predominantly normal apart from a zone in the north east of the country that was moderately dry. Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Belize were normal.

August 2009 to October 2010

As for the October rainfall, the 3 month period was mixed across the Caribbean. Trinidad was normal in the east and moderately wet in the west, whilst Tobago was normal. Grenada was very wet whilst Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia were extremely wet. Dominica was normal. Antigua and St. Kitts were very wet whilst Anguilla was moderately wet. Both Guyana and the Dominican Republic were normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east. Cayman Islands was moderately wet whilst Belize was predominantly normal.

 May 2009 to October 2010

For the 6 month period, Trinidad was very wet in the south and extremely wet in the north. Tobago was extremely wet. Grenada was very wet but Barbados, St. Vncent and St. Lucia were extremely wet. Dominica was moderately to very wet whilst St. Kitts was extremely wet, Antigua very wet and Anguilla moderately wet. Guyana was normal. The Dominican Republic was predominantly normal with areas to the far south being moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east. Cayman Islands was normal whilst conditions in Belize were predominantly moderately wet with an area to the south being very wet.

November 2009 to October 2010

Both Trinidad and Grenada were normal for the period whilst Tobago was moderately wet. Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia were very wet. Dominica, Antigua and Anguilla were moderately wet, but St. Kitts was very wet. Both Guyana and the Dominican Republic were normal. Predominantly, Jamaica was very wet. Cayman Islands was normal whilst Belize was predominantly normal apart from an area in the south that was moderately wet.

SPI Monitor September 2010

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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.

Discussion

September 2010

From St. Lucia northward to Anguilla, as well as Tobago and Barbados were all near normal in September. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada were extremely wet. Trinidad was extremely wet in the west and very wet in the east. Both Guyana and the Dominican Republic were near normal. Jamaica was extremely wet in the west and very wet in the east. Cayman Islands was very wet whilst conditions in Belize ranged from extremely wet in the south to near normal in the north

July 2009 to September 2010

In the eastern Caribbean, Tobago and St. Lucia were near normal for the 3 month period. Grenada and Anguilla were moderately wet, whilst Barbados, Dominica, Antigua and St. Kitts were very wet. St. Vincent was extremely wet. Trinidad was extremely wet in the west and very wet in the east, whilst Guyana was near normal in the west and moderately wet in the east. Apart from a portion of the country in the west that was near normal, the Dominican Republic was moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east. Cayman Islands was moderately wet, and so too was Belize except for a small area near the centre of the country that was near normal.

April 2009 to September 2010

For the period April to September, 2010, Grenada and Anguilla were moderately wet whilst Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts were very wet. Tobago, St. Vincent and Dominica were extremely wet. Trinidad was very wet in the southwest and extremely wet in the northeast, whilst Guyana was predominantly near normal but becoming moderately wet in the eastern extremes. Apart from a small area of the country in the east that was moderately wet, Dominican Republic was near normal. Jamaica was extremely wet in the west and very wet in the east. Cayman Islands was near normal whilst Belize was extremely wet in the south and very wet in the north.

October 2009 to September 2010

For the 12 month period, the majority of the islands of the Caribbean and Guyana had near normal rainfall totals. Grenada was moderately dry, whilst Dominica and St. Kitts were moderately wet. The Dominican Republic was also normal. Jamaica was very wet to the west and moderately wet to the east. Cayman Islands was moderately wet. Conditions in Belize ranged from near normal in the south west to extremely wet in the north.

SPI Monitor August 2010

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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.

Discussion

August 2010

Conditions in the eastern Caribbean were mixed for the month of August. Trinidad shared very wet to extremely wet conditions. Tobago, Barbados and Grenada were normal. St. Vincent, Dominica and Anguilla were very wet, whilst Antigua and St. Kitts were extremely wet. Guyana was moderately wet to the west to normal in the east. The Dominican Republic was normal (positive normal to the west and negative normal to the east). Apart from the western portion of the island that was moderately wet, Jamaica generally experienced normal conditions. Cayman Islands was normal whilst Belize was moderately wet in the south and normal to the north.

June 2009 to August 2010

In the eastern Caribbean, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Anguilla were very wet during this three month period. Dominica, Antigua and St. Kitts were extremely wet. In the south of the chain, Trinidad and Tobago were moderately wet, whilst Grenada was normal. Guyana was also normal. Generally the north of Dominican Republic was moderately wet whilst the remainder was very wet. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to normal in the east. Cayman Islands was normal whilst in Belize conditions ranged from normal to extremely wet in the south.

March 2009 to August 2010

During the six month period; Tobago, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua and St. Kitts all experienced extremely wet conditions, whilst Trinidad was very wet in the western outskirts of the island and extremely wet elsewhere. Barbados, St. Lucia and Anguilla were moderately wet, whilst Grenada was normal. Guyana was also normal. The Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands were normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to normal in the east. Central Belize was moderately wet but very wet elsewhere.

September 2009 to August 2010

Grenada experienced extremely dry conditions for the twelve month period. Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Antigua were all normal. Dominica and St. Kitts were moderately wet. Guyana, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cayman Islands were all normal. In Belize, conditions ranged from extremely wet in the north to normal in the south.

SPI Monitor July 2010

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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.

Discussion

July 2010

Grenada, Trinidad, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda were all near normal. Tobago, Barbados and Anguilla were moderately wet, whilst Dominica was very wet and St. Kitts extremely wet. Guyana ranged from normal to the west to very wet in the east. The Dominican Republic was extremely wet. Further west, conditions ranged from extremely wet in the west to near normal in the east. The Cayman Islands was near normal, whilst conditions in Belize were near normal in the west becoming very wet to the north east and south east.

May 2009 to July 2010

For the 3 month period, Guyana, Trinidad and Grenada to the south of the chain, and Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla to the north were all near normal. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica were moderately wet. Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts were very wet, whilst Tobago was extremely wet. Apart from the eastern portion that was very wet, the majority of the Dominican Republic was moderately wet. Conditions in Jamaica for the period ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east. The Cayman Islands was near normal, whilst Belize was moderately wet in the west and very wet elsewhere.

February 2009 to July 2009

From Guyana to Grenada along with St. Lucia and Anguilla were near normal. Barbados, St. Vincent and Antigua were moderately wet, whilst Dominica and St. Kitts were very wet. Tobago was extremely wet for the six month period. Apart from the eastern portion that was moderately wet, Dominican Republic was near normal. Jamaica was very wet in the west and moderately wet in the east. Cayman Islands was near normal whilst, apart from the northern tip that was very wet, conditions in Belize were predominantly moderately wet.

August 2009 to July 2010

The twelve month period was extremely dry in Grenada, whilst the remainder of the southern portion of the chain from Guyana to Anguilla were normal. The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cayman Islands were all normal for the period, whilst in Belize conditions were moderately dry in the south west to very wet in the north east.

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 Monitor June 2010

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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.

Discussion

June 2010

Rainfall in the eastern Caribbean chain ranged from near normal to very wet. Most of Trinidad and Guyana experienced near normal conditions (in the negative) as well as Grenada and Anguilla. Tobago, St. Vincent, Dominica and St. Kitts were moderately wet. Barbados, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda were very wet. Both The Dominican Republic and Jamaica experienced normal to moderately wet conditions. Cayman Islands was normal whilst Belize ranged from normal for the most part to moderately wet in the southern portion of the country.

April 2009 to June 2010

Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda and most of Trinidad (the south west portion being normal) were moderately wet. St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dominica were very wet, whilst Tobago was extremely wet. Anguilla and most of Guyana experienced normal conditions. The Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands were normal. Jamaica was moderately wet just like the north and eastern portions of Belize. The west and southern portions of Belize were very wet.

January 2009 to June 2010

Apart from Tobago that was very wet, from Guyana northward to St. Lucia experienced near normal conditions. Dominica and St. Kitts were moderately wet, whilst Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla were near normal. The Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands were near normal. The majority of Jamaica was moderately wet. Belize was generally near normal.

July 2009 to June 2010

The 12 month period was extremely dry for Grenada. The remainder of the islands in the chain were near normal. The northern portion of Guyana was normal whilst the south was moderately dry for the period. Apart from the north-eastern portion of the country that was moderately dry, the Dominican Republic was near normal. Jamaica and Cayman Islands were also near normal, whilst Belize ranged from normal in the south to very wet in the north.

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 Monitor May 2010

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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.

Discussion

May 2010

The islands from Dominica northward experienced near normal conditions. Barbados and Guyana also experienced near normal conditions. Southward of Dominica the islands were above normal with Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada being very to extremely wet. The Dominican Republic was near normal. Further to the west, Jamaica experienced moderate to very wet conditions, whilst Belize experienced conditions ranging from near normal in the south to extremely wet in the north. The Cayman Islands was near normal.

March 2009 to May 2010

For the three month period ending May 2010, the majority of the islands of the eastern Caribbean experienced moderately wet conditions. The exceptions to this were Barbados and the islands of the extreme northern Leeward that were near normal for the period; and Trinidad and Tobago that experienced moderate to extremely wet (in Tobago) conditions. Guyana was near normal. Apart from the northwest portion of the country that was moderately dry, the Dominican Republic was near normal. Both Belize and Jamaica were moderate to very wet. Cayman Islands was near normal.

December 2009 to May 2010

For the six month period December 2009 to May 2010, the islands of the eastern Caribbean were near normal with the exception of Barbados, which was moderately dry and St Kitts that was moderately wet. Both Guyana and the Dominican Republic were near normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from near normal in the west to very wet in the east. Belize was near normal to moderately wet. The Cayman Islands was near normal.

June 2009 to May 2010

The eastern Caribbean was predominantly near normal with the exception of Grenada that was extremely dry and Barbados that was moderately dry. Guyana ranged from near normal in the west to moderately dry in the east. The Eastern Dominican Republic was moderately dry with the rest of the island being near normal. Both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands experienced near normal conditions. Conditions in Belize ranged from near normal in the south to very wet in the north.

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 Monitor April 2010

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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.

Discussion

April 2010

The middle two weeks of April 2010 provided the region, in particular, the eastern Caribbean, with high rainfall and welcomed relief from the drought conditions. The eastern Caribbean, including Guyana, experienced conditions ranging from, near normal (in the negative in Tobago) to extremely wet in Dominica. The Dominican Republic was also near normal. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from near normal in the west to moderately wet in the east. In Belize, conditions were near normal in the north to moderately wet in the southwest.

February  to April 2010

For the 3 month period, the southern portion of the eastern chain (particularly Grenada and Tobago) showed drier conditions than the northern portion. This was predominantly due to the high rainfall experienced in the middle two weeks of April. North of the Grenadines, the chain was near normal to extremely wet for the period. Guyana was near normal for the period. The western portion of the Dominican Republic was below normal whilst the eastern portion was normal. The western portion of Jamaica was normal whilst the eastern portion was moderately wet. Further to the west, Cayman Islands and Belize were normal.

November 2009 to April 2010

For the six month period, the southern portion of the eastern chain, from Trinidad northward to St. Vincent and Barbados, was severe to extremely dry. The remainder of the eastern chain was near normal. Guyana was normal in the west and moderately dry in the east. Apart from an area in the northeast that was moderately dry, the Dominican Republic was generally near normal for the period. Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Belize were all near normal for the period.

May 2009 to April 2010

From the period May 2009 to April 2010, Trinidad and Grenada experienced severe to extremely dry conditions. Barbados and St. Lucia were moderately dry. The remainder of the eastern portion of the chain was normal. Guyana was normal to the north to extremely dry in the south. Apart from the eastern portion of the country that was moderately dry, Dominican Republic was normal. Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Belize were all normal for the period.

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.