SPI Monitor May 2016
May 2016
Mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad was slightly wet; Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Croix normal; Grenada and St. Kitts slightly dry; and northern Guyana ranging from extremely wet in the north to slightly dry in the east. Aruba was severely dry, but Curacao normal. Puerto Rico was predominantly normal but slightly wet in the east, while conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately wet to moderately dry. Jamaica was normal, while Grand Cayman was slightly dry. In Cuba, western areas were normal to severely dry, central areas normal to moderately wet, and east normal to slightly dry. Belize was predominantly severely dry apart from the south that was extremely dry.
March to May 2016
For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Trinidad and Dominica normal to slightly wet; Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, Antigua and St. Croix normal; Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Maarten slightly dry; St. Lucia very wet; Anguilla slightly wet; and northern Guyana ranging from very wet in the north to normal in the east and south. Aruba was extremely dry, while Curacao was moderately dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from normal in the west to moderately wet in the east. In the Dominican Republic, northern and southern extremes were normal, while remaining areas were slight to very wet. Apart from northwestern areas that were slightly dry Jamaica was normal, but Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Cuba was predominantly normal to slightly wet apart from west central areas that were dry to exceptionally dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from severely dry in the south to exceptionally dry in the west.
December 2015 to May 2016
Normal to below normal rainfall was experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean over the six month period. Trinidad, Tobago, St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Croix were normal; Grenada, Barbados, Antigua and St. Kitts moderately dry; St. Vincent and Anguilla slightly dry; and St. Maarten severely dry. Conditions in northern Guyana ranged from slightly wet in the north to moderately dry in the east. Aruba and Curacao were exceptionally dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from slightly dry in the southwest to moderately wet in the northeast, while for the Dominican Republic northern and southern extremes were normal, while remaining areas were slight to extremely wet. Jamaica and Grand Cayman were normal, while conditions in Cuba ranged from extremely wet in the west to normal in the east. Conditions in Belize ranged from extremely dry in the south and west to slightly dry in the north.
June 2015 to May 2016
Normal to below normal conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts and Anguilla were moderately dry; Tobago normal; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados and St. Maarten exceptionally dry; St. Vincent and St. Croix severely dry; and Antigua extremely dry. Conditions in northern Guyana ranged from extremely wet in the north to normal in the east. Aruba was exceptionally dry and Curacao extremely dry. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from exceptionally dry in the west to normal in the north, while in the Dominican Republic it was exceptionally dry in the south to moderately wet in the west and to normal in the east. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the northwest to extremely dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was moderately dry. Predominantly normal to above normal rainfall totals were experienced in Cuba, with at worst exceptionally dry conditions in some parts of the east. Conditions in central Belize were normal and ranged to slightly dry to the north and moderately dry to the south.
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.