SPI Monitor January 2021

January 2021

The islands of the eastern Caribbean were predominantly normal to below normal during the month of January. Trinidad, Tobago and St Croix normal; Grenada and St Vincent slight to moderately dry; Barbados very to extremely wet; Saint Lucia normal to moderately dry; Martinique and Dominica slight to exceptionally dry; Guadeloupe slight to extremely dry; Antigua extremely dry; St Kitts severe to slightly dry; St Maarten moderate to extremely  dry; St Thomas moderately dry. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from severely dry in northeastern Guyana to exceptionally wet in southern French Guiana. Aruba normal and curacao slight to moderately wet. Puerto Rico ranged from moderate to slightly dry west to southeast. The Dominican Republic ranged from moderate to exceptionally dry. Jamaica ranged from exceptionally dry in the west to moderately wet in the north and severely dry in the east. Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Cuba ranged from extremely dry in the northeast to slightly dry in the extreme west and slightly wet in the extreme southeast. Northern Bahamas ranged from normal to severely dry and Belize ranged from slightly dry in the south to extremely wet in northern areas.

November 2020 to January 2021

Mixed conditions prevailed over the three month period in the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad ranged from very wet in the southeast to exceptionally dry in the northwest; Tobago and St Kitts slightly dry to normal; Grenada and St Thomas normal; Barbados, Saint Lucia and Guadeloupe normal to slightly wet; St Vincent  slight to moderately dry; Martinique slightly wet to exceptionally dry; Dominica exceptionally dry in the south to extremely wet in the northeast; Antigua slight to moderately wet; St Kitts normal to slightly dry; St Maarten moderately dry; and St Croix slightly dry. In The Guianas, conditions ranged from normal in northern French Guiana to exceptionally wet  in eastern portions of Suriname across the border to western portions of French Guiana. Aruba normal and Curacao slight to moderately wet. Puerto Rico was normal. The Dominican Republic was predominantly normal, ranging from severely dry in the extreme south to slightly wet in the northeast. Jamaica ranged from slightly dry in the extreme west to very wet in the northeast. Grand Cayman was slightly wet. Cuba ranged from slightly dry in west central areas to moderately wet in the extreme western tip and to exceptionally wet in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from moderately wet to slightly dry and Belize was normal in the south to exceptionally wet in the north.

August 2020 to January 2021

Over the six month period we saw mixed conditions throughout the islands of the eastern Caribbean.  Trinidad and Dominica ranged from extremely wet to moderately dry; Tobago, Saint Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, St Maarten, Anguilla and St Thomas normal; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados extreme to moderately wet; St Vincent and St Croix slightly dry to normal; Martinique slightly wet to severely dry south to north; and Guadeloupe ranged from slightly dry in the west to slightly wet in the southeast. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal in southwestern Guyana, north eastern Suriname and north western and northeastern French Guiana to exceptionally wet in in eastern portions of Suriname across the border to western portions of French Guiana.  Aruba normal and Curacao slightly wet to normal south to north.  Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the east. The Dominican Republic was predominantly normal ranging to moderately dry in the extreme southwest and slightly dry in the north.  Jamaica ranged from slightly dry in the west to exceptionally wet in the extreme north. Grand Cayman was moderately wet. Cuba ranged from slightly wet in east central areas to extremely wet in the extreme west  and eastern areas. Northern Bahamas ranged from slight to exceptionally wet and Belize was moderately dry in southern areas ranging to exceptionally wet in the north.

February 2020 to January 2021

Conditions in the eastern Caribbean were predominantly normal to below normal over the twelve month period. Trinidad and Tobago ranged from normal to moderately dry; Grenada slight to moderately dry; Barbados normal to slightly wet; St Vincent and Saint Lucia severe to moderately dry; Martinique normal to severely dry; Dominica extremely dry in the extreme south to normal in the north; Guadeloupe slightly dry to normal west to east; Antigua, St Kitts, St Thomas normal; St Maarten, and St Croix slightly dry.  In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal in northern and southern parts of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana to moderately dry in northern French Guiana and to exceptionally wet in northeastern French Guiana. Aruba and curacao were normal. Puerto Rico ranged from normal in the south to slightly wet in the north.  The Dominican Republic ranged from extremely dry in the extreme southwest to normal in the northwestern quadrant and in extreme eastern areas. Jamaica ranged from severely dry in the extreme west to extremely wet in the north and to moderately wet in the east. Grand Cayman was normal. Cuba ranged from normal in east central areas to very wet in the west, north central and extreme southeast. Northern Bahamas ranged from slight to exceptionally wet and Belize ranged from extremely dry in the south to exceptionally wet in the north.

February 2019 to January 2021

Over the two year period conditions in the eastern Caribbean were normal to below normal. Trinidad ranged from moderate to extremely dry; Tobago ranged from normal to severely dry; Grenada and Barbados slight to moderately dry; St Vincent severe to extremely dry; Saint Lucia extreme to exceptionally dry south to north; Martinique extreme to slightly dry; Dominica and Guadeloupe extremely dry to normal; Antigua normal; St Kitts and St Thomas normal to slightly dry; St Maarten slightly dry; and St Croix moderately dry. Much of the Guianas was normal, with conditions ranging from exceptionally wet in central Guyana to exceptionally dry in northwestern French Guiana. Aruba and Curacao normal to slightly dry.  Puerto Rico ranged from severely dry in the extreme southwest to normal in central and eastern areas. The Dominican Republic ranged from  slightly dry in the west to exceptionally dry in southern areas. Jamaica was predominantly normal with slightly dry areas in the extreme west and east. Grand Cayman was slightly dry. Cuba ranged from very wet in the west to exceptionally dry in the east. Northern Bahamas ranged from exceptionally wet to extremely dry and Belize ranged from normal in central areas to slightly dry in the south, exceptionally dry in the west and 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.