SPI Monitor May 2017

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May 2017

Apart from Tobago that was slightly dry, the islands of the eastern Caribbean were normal to wet. Trinidad, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Croix and St. Thomas were normal; Grenada slight to moderately wet; Martinique normal to slightly wet; Guadeloupe and Anguilla moderately wet; and Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Maarten slightly wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from moderately dry in eastern Coastal Guyana to very wet in northwestern Suriname. Aruba was normal while Curacao was slightly wet. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the east, but in the Dominica Republic they ranged from exceptionally dry in the west to normal in the east. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from very wet in the west to slightly wet in the east, but Grand Cayman was severely dry. Cuba was predominantly normal, though slightly wet in parts of the east and west, and slightly dry in some north central areas. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west to slightly dry in the north.

March to May 2017

For the three month period, apart from in Trinidad that was normal to slightly dry, rainfall in the islands of the eastern Caribbean was normal to above normal. Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts were normal; St. Vincent, Anguilla and St. Croix moderately wet; Martinique normal to moderately wet; Dominican moderate to extremely wet; Guadeloupe moderate to very wet; Antigua, St. Thomas and St. Maarten slightly wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from moderately dry in eastern Coastal Guyana to very wet in northwestern Suriname. Aruba was normal while Curacao was slightly wet. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from normal in the west to moderately wet in the east, while in the Dominican Republic they ranged from moderately dry in the southwest to slightly wet in the north. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east, but Grand Cayman was normal. In Cuba, central areas were normal to slightly dry, western areas normal to extremely wet and eastern areas normal to slightly wet. Conditions in Belize ranged from severely dry in the west to moderately wet further north.

December 2016 to May 2017

Apart from Barbados was normal to slightly dry, rainfall in the eastern Caribbean was normal to above normal for the six month period. Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Thomas were normal; Tobago, Grenada, and St. Maarten slightly wet; Martinique normal to moderately wet; Dominica normal to exceptionally wet; Guadeloupe slight to very wet; Anguilla moderately wet, and St. Croix extremely wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from extremely dry in northern Guyana to very wet to exceptionally wet in northern Suriname. Aruba was moderately wet, while Curacao was slightly wet. Puerto Rico was normal, but the Dominican Republic though predominantly normal was slightly dry in the southwest and slightly wet in the north. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from very wet in the southwest to normal in the east, but Grand Cayman was slightly dry.  In Cuba, the west was normal to very wet, central areas normal to moderately dry, and the east normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from moderately dry in the west to exceptionally wet in the south and normal to the north.

June 2016 to May 2017

Mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean over the twelve month period. Trinidad was slight to severely dry; Tobago slight to severely dry; Grenada, St. Kitts and Anguilla normal; St. Vincent moderate to very wet; St. Lucia exceptionally wet; Martinique slightly dry to moderately wet; Dominica normal to very wet; Guadeloupe slight to moderately wet; Antigua and St. Thomas slightly wet; St. Maarten slightly dry; and St. Croix moderately wet. Conditions in the Guianas ranged from extremely dry in eastern coastal Guyana to exceptionally wet in eastern Guyana/western Suriname. Aruba was slightly wet and Curacao was normal. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from slightly dry in the southwest to very wet in the northeast, but in the Dominica Republic they ranged from normal in the southwest to exceptionally wet in the north. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the north to normal in the west and in the east, but Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Central Cuba was normal to moderately dry, while the east and west ranged from normal to exceptionally wet. Conditions in Belize ranged normal in central areas to extremely dry in the south and moderately dry in the north.

June 2015 to May 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.