SPI Monitor April 2020

April 2020

Normal to below normal conditions mainly prevailed throughout the islands of the eastern Caribbean, during the month of April. Trinidad ranged from normal in the east to severely dry in the southwest and exceptionally dry in the extreme northwest; Tobago slightly wet to moderately dry; Grenada normal; St Vincent, St Maarten and Anguilla normal to slightly dry; Barbados, St Kitts, St Croix and St Thomas slightly dry; Saint Lucia moderate to severely dry; Martinique severe to extremely dry; Dominica normal to moderately dry; Guadeloupe normal to severely dry and Antigua severely dry. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from normal in most of Suriname, parts of eastern Guyana and western French Guiana to exceptionally dry in northern Guyana and to extremely wet in northeast French Guiana. Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from slightly dry to normal. Hispaniola ranged from exceptionally dry for most of Haiti and western Dominican Republic to slightly dry in east central Dominican Republic. Jamaica ranged from extremely dry in the south east to normal in the north and north western areas. Grand Cayman was moderately dry.  In Cuba, conditions ranged from normal in the north and southeast to severely dry in parts of the northeast and to extremely dry in the west. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal to extremely wet. Belize ranged from normal in the extreme southwest to extremely dry in the east and north.

February to April 2020

Mixed conditions prevailed throughout the eastern Caribbean during the three month period. Trinidad ranged from extremely dry in the extreme southwest to normal in the northeast; Tobago and Dominica normal to slightly dry; Grenada normal to slightly wet; Barbados slightly dry; St Vincent moderately dry; Saint Lucia and Martinique moderate to severely dry; Guadeloupe very wet in the west to moderately dry in the east; St Kitts slight to moderately wet; Antigua, St Maarten, Anguilla, St Croix and St Thomas normal. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from exceptionally dry in north eastern Guyana, to slightly wet in north eastern French Guiana. Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally wet in the northeast. Apart from the extreme eastern areas of the Dominican Republic which were slight to moderately wet, Hispaniola ranged from normal to moderately dry. Jamaica ranged from severely dry in the extreme south to normal in the north. Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Cuba ranged from exceptionally dry in central areas to moderately dry in the west and to normal in the southeast. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal to moderately dry and Belize from normal in the south east to exceptionally dry in the north east.

November 2019 to April 2020

Mixed conditions were seen during the six month period throughout the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad was normal to moderately dry from south east to north west; Tobago, Grenada, Antigua, St Maarten, Anguilla, and St Thomas normal; St Vincent extremely dry; Barbados slight to severely dry; Saint Lucia extreme to exceptionally dry; Martinique moderately dry; Dominica moderately wet to normal from west to east; Guadeloupe normal to severely dry from west to east; St Kitts moderate to slightly wet from south to north; and St. Croix normal to slightly wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from normal in eastern Guyana, western Suriname and eastern French Guiana to exceptionally dry in northern Guyana and northwest French Guyana. Curacao was slight to moderately dry. Puerto Rico ranged from exceptionally dry in the southwest to exceptionally wet in the northeast. Over Hispaniola, Haiti was predominantly normal with the Dominican Republic ranging from exceptionally dry to  moderately wet. Jamaica was normal in the extreme west and northeast, and slight to moderately dry elsewhere. Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Cuba ranged from extremely dry in east central areas to normal in the east and to slightly dry in the west. Northern Bahamas was normal to moderately dry and Belize ranged from slightly dry in central areas to extremely dry in the southeast and northeast.

May 2019 to April 2020

Conditions in the islands of eastern Caribbean were predominantly normal to below normal over the twelve month period. Trinidad was moderate to extremely dry from  the south east to northwest; Tobago normal to moderately dry; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados exceptional to severely dry   south to north; St Vincent severe to extremely dry; Saint Lucia extreme to exceptionally dry; Martinique moderate to severely dry; Dominica slightly dry to normal south to north; Guadeloupe normal  in the west to exceptionally dry in the east; Antigua slightly wet to normal; St Kitts, St Maarten and Anguilla normal; St Croix severely dry and St Thomas slight to moderately dry.  The Guianas, though moderately normal, ranged very wet in a small area in north central Guyana to extremely dry in north western French Guiana. Curacao was moderately dry. Puerto Rico ranged from severely dry in the west to moderately wet in the north east.  In Hispaniola, conditions ranged from normal in northwest Haiti to exceptionally dry in southern Dominican Republic. Jamaica was normal to moderately dry. Grand Cayman was extremely dry. In Cuba, conditions ranged from severely dry in west central areas to slightly wet in eastern areas. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderately wet to extremely dry in the north, whereas Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry in the north and western areas.

May 2018 to April 2020

Over the two year period, predominantly normal to below normal conditions prevailed throughout the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad ranged from slightly dry in the extreme south east to exceptionally dry in north western areas; Tobago moderate to severely dry; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados and Saint Lucia exceptionally dry; St Vincent extremely dry; Martinique extreme to moderately dry south to north; Dominica moderately dry to normal from south to north; Guadeloupe normal in the west to exceptionally dry in the east; Antigua, St Kitts and St. Thomas normal to slightly dry; St Croix and St Maarten moderately dry. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal to very wet in central Guyana, to exceptionally dry in north eastern Guyana and north western French Guiana. Curacao was moderate to severely dry. Puerto Rico ranged from severely dry in the extreme south west to normal in eastern areas. Hispaniola ranged from moderately dry in the north to exceptionally dry over most of Haiti and southern Dominican Republic. Jamaica was predominantly normal with slightly dry conditions in the northwest and slight to extremely dry conditions in the east. Grand Cayman was severely dry. Cuba ranged from slightly wet in the west to exceptionally dry in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderately wet to extremely dry in the north. Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry in the west and north.

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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.