SPI Monitor December 2023

December 2023

Predominantly normal to below normal conditions were seen throughout the islands of the eastern Caribbean during the month of December. Trinidad predominantly normal ranging to slightly wet in the south and to moderately dry in the extreme northeast; Tobago severe to slightly dry; Grenada and St Croix moderately dry; Barbados extremely wet; St. Vincent mostly normal to slightly wet; Saint Lucia moderately wet to normal in the extreme north; Martinique, St Maarten and St Thomas normal to slightly dry; Dominica and Guadeloupe moderate to slightly dry; Antigua severely dry and St Kitts severe to moderately dry, Anguilla was normal. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from extremely dry in northern Guyana to extremely wet on the northern Suriname/ French Guiana border. Aruba and Curacao were normal. Puerto Rico ranged from exceptionally dry in the extreme southwest to normal in northern areas. Hispaniola was slightly wet in most of Haiti, then ranging from moderately wet to extremely dry in the Dominican Republic. Jamaica ranged from normal to moderately dry west to east. Grand Cayman was moderately wet. Cuba ranged from exceptionally wet in northern areas to very wet in the extreme west and to normal in the extreme east. Northern Bahamas ranged from exceptional to very wet, and Belize from exceptionally wet in the west to normal in the north and to moderately wet in the south.

October to December 2023

Rainfall was mixed across the eastern Caribbean over the three month period. Trinidad, Martinique, St Maarten and Anguilla slight to moderately dry; Tobago and Grenada moderately dry; Barbados slightly wet; St Vincent slightly dry to normal; Saint Lucia, Antigua, St Croix and St Thomas normal; Dominica moderate to extremely wet; Guadeloupe moderately wet to predominantly normal and St Kitts slightly wet to normal. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from exceptionally dry  northern Guyana to north-western Suriname  to exceptionally wet on the northern Suriname/ French Guiana border. Aruba was mostly slightly wet ranging to normal. Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico was exceptionally dry in the south ranging to normal in northwest. Hispaniola was predominantly normal ranging to slightly dry in northwestern Haiti and to moderately wet in eastern areas of the Dominican Republic. Jamaica was predominantly moderately wet ranging to slightly wet in the extreme northeast. Grand Cayman was moderately wet. Cuba was extremely wet in the west ranging to moderately dry in the extreme east.  Northern Bahamas ranged from moderate to very wet. Belize ranged from exceptionally wet in the south to normal in the north.

July to December 2023

Normal to below normal conditions prevailed over the six month period throughout the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad severe to mostly exceptionally dry; Tobago exceptionally dry; Grenada extremely dry on the southeastern coastline ranging to predominantly severely dry; Barbados, Saint Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua ad St Kitts normal; St Vincent mostly slightly dry ranging to normal in the north; St Maarten and Anguilla moderately dry; St Croix moderate to slightly dry and St Thomas slightly dry. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from exceptionally dry to exceptionally wet. Aruba and Curacao were normal. Puerto Rico ranged from exceptionally dry in the south to normal in northwestern areas. Hispaniola ranged from normal in western areas of Haiti to exceptionally wet in the extreme northeast of the Dominican Republic. Jamaica was normal. Grand Cayman ranged from moderate to slightly wet. Cuba was exceptionally wet to normal west to east. Northern Bahamas ranged from slight to moderately wet, and Belize was extremely wet to normal south to north.

January to December 2023

Normal to below normal conditions were seen throughout the eastern Caribbean over the twelve month period. Trinidad and St Maarten normal to slightly dry; Tobago slightly dry; Grenada, Barbados, St Vincent, Saint Lucia, Martinique, Anguilla and St Thomas normal; Dominica was predominantly moderately dry, ranging from slight to severely dry; Guadeloupe, Antigua and St Kitts severe to extremely dry and St Croix severe to predominantly moderately dry. Mostly normal conditions were experienced in the Guianas, ranging from moderately wet to severely dry. Aruba was mostly slightly dry to normal. Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from severely dry to normal. Hispaniola ranged from very wet in the south to normal to the east and slightly wet in southwestern Haiti. Jamaica was normal. Grand Cayman was mostly normal ranging to slightly dry in the east. Cuba ranged from extremely dry in west central areas to exceptionally wet in the west and to moderately wet in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderate to exceptionally wet and Belize ranged from slightly dry in the south to moderately wet in the extreme north.

January 2022 to December 2023

Mostly normal to below normal conditions were seen over the two year period throughout the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Martinique, Dominica and St Thomas were normal; Grenada and Saint Lucia normal to slightly wet; St Vincent slightly wet; Guadeloupe normal to moderately dry; Antigua slightly dry to normal; St Kitts and St. Maarten slight to moderately dry; Anguilla slightly dry and St Croix moderately dry. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from exceptionally wet in southern and northern Guyana, as well as northern French Guiana to moderately dry in northcentral Suriname. Aruba was slightly wet and Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the south to slightly wet in the north. Hispaniola ranged from moderately dry in the extreme west of Haiti to moderately wet in northeastern Dominican Republic. Jamaica was mostly normal ranging to slightly dry in the extreme northeast. Grand Cayman was normal. Cuba ranged from exceptionally wet in the west to severely dry in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from extremely wet to normal, and Belize from extremely wet in the extreme south to moderately 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.