SPI Monitor July 2016

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July 2016

Mixed conditions were experienced for the month in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua and Anguilla were normal; Tobago moderately dry; Grenada and St. Lucia moderately wet; St. Vincent, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and St. Croix slightly wet; and northern Guyana ranging from very wet in the north to normal in the east. Aruba was moderately wet, while Curacao was normal. Puerto Rico was normal, extremely wet conditions in western Dominican Republic transformed to normal to the east and extremely dry to the south. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from very wet in central areas to normal to the east and west. Grand Cayman was slightly dry. Apart from some west central areas that were slight to moderately dry, Cuba was normal, but conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the north and slightly wet in the south.

May to July 2016

spi_3.07-2016For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Croix were normal; Grenada moderately wet; St. Lucia very wet; Anguilla and St. Maarten slightly dry; and northern Guyana ranging from extremely wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was normal, while Curacao was moderately dry. Puerto Rico was normal, but the Dominican Republic mixed with extremely dry conditions in the south to normal to slightly wet in the north. Apart from being slightly dry in north central areas, Jamaica was normal, but Grand Cayman was severely dry. Conditions in western Cuba ranged from severely to extremely dry and in the east normal to moderately dry, while Belize was predominantly normal.

February to July 2016

spi_6.07-2016Conditions for the six month period in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana were also mixed. Trinidad, Tobago, Dominica, Antigua and St. Croix were normal; Grenada slightly wet; Barbados, St. Kitts and Anguilla slightly dry; St. Lucia very wet; St. Maarten moderately dry; and northern Guyana ranging from very wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba was moderately dry, while Curacao was extremely dry. Puerto Rico was moderately wet and the Dominican Republic normal in the south and north to moderately wet in central areas. Apart from being slightly dry in north central areas, Jamaica was normal, but Grand Cayman was extremely dry. Conditions in Cuba ranged from moderately dry in the west to moderately wet in the east. Apart from slightly dry conditions in the west, Belize was predominantly normal.

August 2015 to July 2016

spi_12.07-2016Mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for the twelve month period. Trinidad, St. Vincent, Antigua, St. Kitts, Anguilla moderately dry; Tobago and St. Lucia normal; Grenada slightly wet; Barbados severely dry; Dominica slight to moderately dry; St. Maarten exceptionally dry; St Croix slightly dry; and northern Guyana ranged from very wet in the north to severely dry in the east. Aruba was exceptionally dry and Curacao extremely dry. Puerto Rico was normal, while conditions in the Dominican Republic were predominantly normal but ranging to moderately wet in the west. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal to severely dry, but Grand Cayman severe to extremely dry. Conditions in Cuba ranged from normal to moderately dry in the west and normal to extremely wet in the east, but Belize was predominantly normal.

 

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.