SPI Monitor January 2020

January 2020

Normal to above normal rainfall was experienced in most of the islands of the eastern Caribbean, during the month of January. Trinidad, Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia, Martinique were normal; Tobago normal to slightly wet; Grenada  normal to slightly dry; Dominica moderate to extremely wet; Guadeloupe moderately wet to normal from west to east; Antigua and St Croix, slight to moderately wet; St Kitts extremely wet; St Maarten very wet and St Thomas moderately wet. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal in northern Suriname and northeast Guyana to extremely dry in northern Guyana and exceptionally dry in the north east and northwest areas of French Guiana. Aruba and Curacao were normal. Puerto Rico was normal to exceptionally wet from west to east. Hispaniola ranged from extremely dry in the south to very wet in the north of the Dominican Republic. Jamaica was mostly normal with the exception of slightly dry conditions in west central areas. Grand Cayman was normal. Cuba was predominantly normal, with the exception of a small area on the north eastern border which was slightly dry. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal to moderately dry and Belize predominantly normal with the exception of slightly wet conditions in central areas.

November 2019 to January 2020

Mixed conditions prevailed in the eastern Caribbean over the three month period. Trinidad, Grenada, Martinique and St Croix were normal to slightly dry; Tobago, Antigua, St Maarten and St Thomas normal; Barbados and Guadeloupe normal to moderately dry; St Vincent severe to extremely dry; St Lucia moderate to severely dry; Dominica moderately wet to normal from south to north; and St Kitts normal to slightly wet. In the Guianas, conditions were mostly normal with the exception of slight to moderately wet conditions in the southern parts of Guyana to a slightly wet area in southeast French Guiana, slight to severely dry conditions in northern Guyana and north eastern French Guiana and slight to exceptionally dry in eastern Suriname and western French Guiana. Aruba was moderately dry and Curacao slight to moderately dry. In Puerto Rico moderately wet conditions prevailed with the exception of slightly dry conditions on the east to south east coast. Hispaniola ranged from slightly wet in north western Haiti to extremely dry in central Dominican Republic and to normal in the extreme east. Jamaica was predominantly normal with the exception of the northwest which was slightly dry. Grand Cayman was normal. Cuba was mostly normal apart from slight to moderately dry conditions in the southeast and slight to moderately wet in the east. Northern Bahamas was normal and Belize normal in central areas to slightly dry in the north and to moderately dry in the west.

August 2019 to January 2020

Apart from Dominica hat was normal to slightly wet, normal to below normal rainfall prevailed over the eastern Caribbean for the six month period. Trinidad ranged from slight to moderately dry from west to east,; Tobago, Antigua, St Kitts, St Thomas and St Maarten normal; Grenada slight to moderately dry; St Vincent exceptionally dry; Barbados extreme to exceptionally dry; St. Lucia severe to exceptionally dry; Martinique normal to severely dry from south to north; Guadeloupe normal to exceptionally dry from west to east; and St Croix severe to extremely dry. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal to moderately wet, with the exception of slight to severely dry conditions in northern Guyana and eastern French Guiana, as well as slight to exceptionally dry areas in the vicinity of the northern Suriname/French Guiana border. Aruba was slightly dry and Curacao moderately dry. Puerto Rico was predominantly normal with slightly wet conditions in the northern areas. Hispaniola ranged from exceptionally dry in central Dominican Republic to slightly dry in the east and to normal for the majority of Haiti, except for a small area in the southwest which was slightly dry. Jamaica was mostly normal except for slightly dry conditions in the northwest, whereas Grand Cayman was extremely dry. Cuba ranged from moderately dry in west-central areas to slightly wet in the west and in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal in in the south to extremely dry in the north. Belize was normal in the south to extremely dry in the northwest.

February 2019 to January 2020

Normal to below normal rainfall prevailed throughout the eastern Caribbean over the twelve month period. Trinidad ranged from extreme to moderately dry from northwest to southeast; Tobago normal to moderately dry; Grenada, St Maarten and St Thomas slightly dry; Barbados severe to exceptionally dry; St Vincent moderately dry; St Lucia extreme to exceptionally dry; Martinique moderate to severely dry; Dominica slightly dry to normal from south to north; Guadeloupe normal to extremely dry; Antigua normal; St Kitts slight to moderately dry; St Croix severely dry. In the Guianas, Guyana mostly ranged from normal to very wet with the exception of north which was slight to moderately dry; areas in the vicinity of the northern Suriname/French Guiana border ranged from slight to exceptionally dry. Aruba was moderately dry and Curacao moderate to severely dry. Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the extreme southwest to normal in central and eastern areas, and Hispaniola from slightly dry in south central areas to exceptionally dry in the west of Haiti, and to extremely dry in eastern Dominican Republic. Jamaica ranged from slightly dry in west-central and eastern areas to slightly wet in the west. Grand Cayman was moderate to severely dry. Cuba ranged from normal to moderately wet in west and from slight to exceptionally dry in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderately wet in the south to extremely dry in the north. Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry in the north.

February 2018 to January 2020

Normal to below normal rainfall totals were experienced throughout the eastern Caribbean, over the two year period. Trinidad was slight to extremely dry from southeast to northwest; Tobago and Martinique moderate to severely dry; Grenada and St Thomas slightly dry; Barbados extreme to exceptionally dry; St Vincent severe to extremely dry; St Lucia exceptionally dry; Dominica and Antigua slightly dry to normal; Guadeloupe normal to extremely dry from west to east; St Kitts slight to moderately dry; St Maarten and St Croix, moderately dry. Conditions in the Guianas ranged predominantly from normal to moderately wet, with the exception of northern Guyana which was slight to exceptionally dry and areas along the Suriname/French Guiana border which were slight to moderately dry. Aruba and Curacao were moderately dry. Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the east; and Hispaniola from exceptionally dry in Haiti and southern Dominican Republic to moderately dry north central Dominican Republic. Jamaica, though predominantly normal, was slightly wet in the extreme west, slight to severely dry in the east and slight to moderately dry in the North West, while Grand Cayman was severely dry. Cuba ranged from moderately wet in the west to exceptionally dry in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderately wet in the south to extremely dry in the north. Belize ranged from normal in the south to exceptionally dry in the 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.