SPI Monitor August 2019

August 2019

Mixed conditions were seen throughout the islands of the eastern Caribbean in August. Trinidad ranged from normal to exceptionally dry from northwest to southeast; Tobago normal to severely dry; Grenada moderately dry; ; Barbados slight to extremely dry; St. Vincent, St Lucia and Martinique normal to slightly dry; Dominica, St. Kitts, St Maarten and Anguilla normal to moderately wet; Guadeloupe moderately wet to moderately dry from west to east; Antigua and St Thomas moderately wet; St. Croix was extreme to exceptionally wet.; In the Guiana’s, conditions ranged from normal to exceptionally wet -the north eastern portion of Guyana, eastern portions of Suriname, north and southeast French Guiana were normal, whereas the north central areas were exceptionally wet. Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from moderately wet to slightly dry from south east to North West. Hispaniola ranged from normal in the western Dominican republic and Eastern Haiti to extremely dry, eastern portion of the Dominican Republic, and moderately dry in southwestern areas of Haiti . Jamaica ranged from normal to moderately dry, north to south, and Grand Cayman was predominantly slightly dry. Cuba ranged from normal in the eastern and western areas to exceptionally wet in central areas, while Northern Bahamas ranged from moderate to extremely wet. Belize ranged from normal in the northern and southern areas to exceptionally dry in central areas.

June to August 2019

Conditions in the eastern Caribbean ranged from very wet to exceptionally dry over the three month period. Trinidad ranged from moderately dry in the south and northeast to severely dry in central, north and north western areas; Tobago and Barbados predominantly moderately dry; Grenada slightly dry; St. Vincent normal to slightly dry; St Lucia normal to extremely dry; Martinique slight to moderately dry; Dominica normal to moderately dry; Guadeloupe moderately wet to extremely dry from west to east; Antigua normal to slightly wet; St. Kitts normal; St Maarten slight to moderately wet;. St Croix moderate to very wet; and St. Thomas slight to moderately wet. In the Guiana’s, conditions ranged from exceptionally dry to exceptionally wet, with eastern Guyana and most of Suriname and French Guiana normal to exceptionally wet in north and southwest Guyana, to exceptionally dry at the northern Suriname/French Guiana border. Curacao was moderately dry. Puerto Rico ranged from slightly wet to severely dry from east to west. Hispaniola ranged from normal in central Dominican Republic to extremely dry in eastern and southern areas of the portions of the DR and to severely dry in southwestern Haiti. In Jamaica, with the exception of the extreme west which was normal, conditions ranged from slightly dry in the north to extremely dry in the south, while Grand Cayman was normal in the east and slightly dry in the west. Cuba ranged from normal in the eastern and western areas to exceptionally wet in central areas. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal to exceptionally wet. Apart from the extreme south which was normal, Belize ranged from slightly dry to exceptionally dry from west to east.

March to August 2019

For the six-month period, rainfall in the eastern Caribbean islands was normal to below normal with the exception of Antigua that was slightly wet and Guadeloupe which though predominantly normal was slightly wet in the northwest . Trinidad ranged from extremely dry in the west to moderately dry in the east; Tobago slight to moderately dry; Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Maarten and Anguilla normal;; Barbados moderately dry; St. Lucia from normal in the south to extremely dry in the north; Martinique and St. Kitts moderately dry; Dominica from normal in the north to severely dry in the south; St. Thomas and St. Croix moderately dry. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from extremely wet in north-central Guyana to exceptionally dry in northeastern French Guiana, and with most of Suriname and French Guiana being normal. Curacao was moderately dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from extremely dry in the west to moderately dry in the east, but Hispaniola ranged from exceptionally dry in western Haiti to normal in central to eastern Dominican Republic. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from moderately wet in the extreme west to moderately dry in central areas and the extreme east. Cuba ranged from normal in the northwest to exceptionally dry in the east, while northern Bahamas was normal to extremely wet from north to south. Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry in the north.

September 2018 to August 2019

The islands of the eastern Caribbean experienced normal to below normal rainfall for the twelve-month period, except for western Guadeloupe which was slightly wet. Trinidad was slight to exceptionally dry from southeast to northwest; Tobago and Grenada slight to moderately dry; Barbados moderate to severely dry; St. Vincent and St. Croix normal to slightly dry; St. Lucia slight to extremely dry; Martinique severe to exceptionally dry; Dominica normal to extremely dry; Antigua normal; St. Kitts and St. Maarten, slight to moderately dry; and St. Thomas moderately dry. Rainfall was normal in most of the Guianas, but ranged from very wet in central Guyana to exceptionally dry in northwest and in northeast French Guiana. Curacao was normal to slightly dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from exceptionally dry in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Hispaniola ranged from exceptionally dry in western Haiti and eastern Dominican Republic to moderately dry in central and northern Dominican Republic. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly wet in the west to severely dry in the east. Apart from eastern Cuba that ranged from slight to exceptionally dry, Cuba was normal, but northern Bahamas was slightly dry to moderately wet from north to south. Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry 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.