SPI Monitor April 2013
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.
*Please note that from the December 2012 issue, information on any potential hot-spots or areas of concern will be added at the end of the discussion*
Discussion
April 2013
Most of the eastern Caribbean and Guyana, apart from the extreme northern leeward islands, experienced normal to above normal rainfall. Trinidad and St. Vincent were extremely wet; Tobago, Barbados and Dominica exceptionally wet; St. Lucia very wet; Antigua moderately wet; St. Kitts normal; Guyana normal to moderately wet from south to north; and Anguilla and St. Croix abnormally dry. Puerto Rico, Cuba and Cayman Islands were predominantly normal, but the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately dry in the southwest to normal in the north and east. Apart from the north-western region that was abnormally wet, Jamaica was normal. Central regions of Belize were severely dry and the remainder moderate dry, apart from the extreme south that was abnormally dry.
February 2013 to April 2013
Apart from the extreme northern Leeward Islands, the eastern Caribbean islands and Guyana were normal to above normal for the three month period. Trinidad, Tobago, St. Lucia and Antigua were moderately wet; Grenada and St. Kitts normal; Barbados very wet; Dominica exceptionally wet; Anguilla moderately dry and St. Croix abnormally dry. Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cayman Islands were normal, but conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from severely dry in the southwest to normal in the east. Eastern and western regions of Cuba were normal, but rainfall in central regions was abnormal to moderately dry. Rainfall in Belize ranged from severely dry in the east to abnormally dry in the south.
November 2012 to April 2013
For the six month period, apart from the northern Leeward Islands that were below normal, the eastern Caribbean and Guyana were normal to above normal. Trinidad was abnormal to moderately wet; Tobago moderately wet; Guyana, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent and Antigua normal; St. Lucia abnormally wet; St. Kitts and St. Croix very dry; Anguilla moderately dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico were normal to abnormally dry, while ranging from moderately dry in the west to normal in the east in the Dominican Republic. Jamaica was abnormally dry in the west and moderately dry in the east, while conditions in Cuba ranged from severely dry in west-central areas to abnormally dry in the western and eastern extremes. Cayman Islands was extremely dry, while conditions in Belize ranged from abnormally dry in the south to severely dry in the north.
May 2012 to April 2013
Conditions in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana were diverse for the twelve month period. Trinidad was abnormal to moderately wet; Tobago, Barbados and St. Lucia abnormally wet; Grenada moderately dry; St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, and Anguilla normal; St. Croix extremely dry; and Guyana abnormally dry to normal. Puerto Rico was normal to abnormally dry, but the Dominican Republic normal. Jamaica was below normal in the extreme west and normal elsewhere. Apart from portions of the west and eastern areas that were abnormally dry, Cuba was normal. Cayman Islands was abnormally dry, while conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the north.