SPI Monitor December 2015

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December 2015

With the exceptions of Trinidad that was moderately wet and Grenada slightly wet, the rainfall in islands of the eastern Caribbean was predominantly normal to below normal. Tobago, St. Vincent, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Croix were normal; St. Lucia and Anguilla moderately dry; Dominica and St. Maarten slightly dry; and Antigua severely dry. Northern Guyana was normal, apart from the extreme east that was slightly dry. Aruba was extremely dry, but Puerto Rico was normal. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately wet in the south to normal in the north and east, but Jamaica was normal. Grand Cayman was moderately wet. Conditions in Cuba ranged from normal to exceptionally wet, while in Belize they ranged from moderately dry in the west to moderately wet in the north.

October to December 2015

spi3.12-2015For the three-month period, apart from Grenada that was moderately wet and St. Kitts that was slightly wet, the eastern Caribbean, including northern Guyana, was normal to below normal. Trinidad, Tobago, Anguilla and St. Croix were normal; Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and Antigua slightly dry; St. Maarten moderately dry; and northern Guyana normal apart from the east that was slight to moderately dry. Aruba was extremely dry, but Puerto Rico normal. Though the majority of the Dominican Republic was normal, the extreme east was slight to severely dry, the extreme south slightly dry and the extreme north slightly wet. Jamaica was normal, while Grand Cayman was slightly wet. Conditions in Cuba ranged from normal in the west and east to extremely wet in east central area, while those in Belize ranged from exceptionally wet in the west to normal in the north.

July to December 2015

spi6.12-2015Normal to below normal conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean for the six month period. Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Croix and Anguilla were moderately dry; Tobago, Grenada and St. Kitts normal; Barbados extremely dry; St. Lucia and Antigua severely dry; Dominica extreme to exceptionally dry; and St. Maarten exceptionally dry. Conditions in northern Guyana ranged from moderately wet in the west to normal in the east. Aruba was extremely dry, while Puerto Rico was slight to moderately dry. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from severely dry in the south to normal in the northwest, while those in Jamaica were normal to moderately dry from west to east. Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Conditions in western Cuba ranged from moderately dry to normal and the east from normal to moderately wet. Belize was predominantly normal apart from the extreme north that was slight to moderately dry.

January to December 2015

spi12.12-2015Normal to below normal rainfall totals was the experience in the islands of the eastern Caribbean in 2015. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry; Tobago and Grenada normal; Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Croix extremely dry; St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Anguilla moderately dry; Dominica, Antigua and St. Maarten exceptionally dry. Conditions in northern Guyana ranged from moderately wet in the west to normal in the east. Aruba was exceptionally dry, while Puerto Rico was normal to moderately dry. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from exceptionally dry in the south to slightly dry in the northeast, while Jamaica was slightly dry in the west and moderately dry in the east. Grand Cayman was slightly dry while Cuba was predominantly normal apart from the west that was slight to moderately dry. Belize was also predominantly normal apart from the extreme north that was slightly dry and the extreme south that was slight to moderately dry.

 

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.