SPI Monitor December 2013
Discussion
December 2013
Normal to above normal conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad; Dominica and Antigua were abnormally wet; Tobago and Barbados normal; Grenada and Anguilla exceptionally wet; St. Vincent moderate to very wet; St. Lucia extremely wet; St. Maarten moderately wet; St. Croix very wet; and Guyana moderately wet in the west to normal in the east. Puerto Rico was moderately wet, while the Dominican Republic Jamaica and Grand Cayman were normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from abnormally wet in the south to extremely wet in the north.
October 2013 to December 2013
The eastern Caribbean and Guyana were predominantly normal to above normal for the three month period. Trinidad was very to extremely wet; Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia and Anguilla abnormally wet; Barbados, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; St Vincent moderately wet; and Guyana moderately wet in the west and abnormally wet in the east. Puerto Rico was predominantly abnormally wet while the Dominican Republic was predominantly normal. Jamaica was moderately dry in the west and abnormally dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from exceptionally wet in the west to very wet in the north, south and east.
July 2013 to December 2013
For the six month period, mixed rainfall totals were the experiences of the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad was moderately wet; Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; Grenada moderately dry; Antigua and St. Kitts abnormally dry; and Guyana normal in the extreme north to moderately wet further south. Puerto Rico was extremely wet, while the Dominican Republic was normal. Apart from the northwestern region that was abnormally dry, Jamaica was normal, and Grand Cayman normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from abnormally wet in the south to exceptionally wet in the north.
January 2013 to December 2013
Apart from Grenada and St. Kitts that were abnormally dry, the eastern Caribbean and Guyana were normal to above normal. Trinidad was extremely wet; Tobago, St. Vincent; Anguilla, St. Maarten and St. Croix normal; Barbados and St. Lucia abnormally wet; Dominica moderately wet; and Guyana normal to the north and abnormally wet further south. Puerto Rico was exceptionally wet, while conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately dry in the south west to very wet in the northeast. Jamaica was abnormally dry in the west and normal in the east, while Grand Cayman was normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from abnormally wet in the south to extremely wet 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.
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.
