SPI Monitor March 2017

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March 2017

Normal to above normal conditions dominated the islands of the eastern Caribbean during March. Trinidad was normal to moderately wet; Tobago moderate to exceptionally wet; Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and Anguilla normal; St. Vincent and Martinique moderately wet; Dominica extremely wet; St. Thomas and St. Croix exceptionally wet. Conditions ranged from slight to extremely wet in Guyana and Suriname. Aruba was normal, but Curacao was slight to moderately wet. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the south west to exceptionally wet in the northeast, while the Dominican Republic ranged from slightly wet in the south to exceptionally wet in the north. In Jamaica, conditions ranged from extremely wet in the southwest to normal in the east, but Grand Cayman was normal. The eastern half of  Cuba ranged from slightly dry to moderately wet, while the western half ranged from normal to severely dry. In Belize, conditions ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the north and extremely wet in the south.

January to March 2017

Mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean for the three month period. Trinidad and Martinique were predominantly normal; Tobago and Dominica moderately wet; Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Anguilla normal; Barbados normal in the north and west to moderately dry in the southeast; St. Lucia slightly dry in the north to normal in the south; Antigua slightly dry; St. Croix and St. Thomas extremely wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from normal in northern Guyana to exceptionally wet in the interior areas. Aruba was very wet, but Curacao slight to moderately wet. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from severely dry in the southwest to moderately wet on the northeast; but the Dominican Republic was from moderately wet in the northwest to normal in the east. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal to moderately wet, while Grand Cayman was slightly dry. Apart from some slight to moderately dry areas, Cuba was predominantly normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately wet in the south to severely dry in the north.

October 2016 to March 2017

For the six month period, mixed conditions were experienced over the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad was slight to moderately dry in the west to slight to moderately wet in the northeast; Tobago, Grenada, Martinique, Antigua and Anguilla normal; Barbados moderate to very wet; St. Vincent extremely wet; St. Lucia from normal in the north to exceptionally wet in the south; Dominica from very wet in the southwest to normal in the northeast; St. Kitts slightly dry; St. Croix slightly wet and St. Thomas moderately wet. In the Guianas, conditions ranged from normal in northern Guyana to exceptionally wet in interior areas. Aruba was slightly wet and Curacao slight to moderately wet.  Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from normal in the southwest to exceptionally wet in the northeast; but Dominican Republic ranging from exceptionally wet in the northwestern and central areas to moderately wet in the southwest. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from slightly dry in eastern and western extremities to extremely wet in northern areas. Grand Cayman was extremely dry. The majority of Cuba was normal, but in the far western and eastern areas rainfall reached extreme to  exceptional amounts. In Belize, conditions ranged from moderately wet in the south to extremely dry in the north.

April 2016 to March 2017

Mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean for the twelve month period. Trinidad was predominantly normal apart from in the extreme northwest that was slightly dry; Tobago normal to slightly dry; Grenada, Antigua, Anguilla and St. Croix normal; Barbados slightly wet; St. Vincent moderately wet; St. Lucia from normal in the north to exceptionally wet in the south; Martinique normal to slightly wet; St. Kitts slightly dry; St. Maarten moderately dry and St. Thomas moderately wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from normal at some coastal areas to exceptionally wet in the interior. Aruba was slightly wet, while Curacao was normal. Conditions in Puerto Rico were normal in the west to extremely wet in the northeast, while in the Dominica Republic from extremely wet in northern and central areas to normal in the southwest.  Jamaica was predominantly normal apart from in the north that ranged to extremely wet, and in the southeast that was slightly dry. Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Cuba was predominantly normal apart from the extreme east and wet that were well above normal, ranging to exceptional in the east. Conditions in Belize ranged from normal in the west to extremely dry in the north and south.

April 2015 to March 2017

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.