SPI Monitor November 2016

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November 2016

The islands of the eastern Caribbean were normal to above normal regarding the month’s rainfall. Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Martinique, St. Kitts and St. Maarten were normal; Barbados very to extremely wet; St. Vincent exceptionally wet; St. Lucia moderate to exceptionally wet; Dominica normal to moderately wet; Guadeloupe normal to slightly wet; Antigua moderately wet; Anguilla, St. Croix and St. Thomas slightly wet. Guyana and Suriname were normal to exceptionally wet from north to south, while French Guiana ranged from extremely dry in the northwest to moderately wet in the south. Aruba was slightly wet, but Curacao moderate to very wet. Conditions in the Puerto Rico ranged from slightly wet in the south to exceptionally wet in the north, but in the Dominican Republic ranged from normal to exceptionally wet from south to north. Conditions in Jamaica were predominantly normal but with the western extreme ranging to extremely dry and the eastern extreme slightly wet, but Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Conditions in Cuba ranged from normal to exceptionally dry, while in Belize they ranged from very wet in the west to normal further east, north and south.

September to November 2016

For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Trinidad and St. Maarten were moderately  dry; Grenada and St. Kitts slightly dry; Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Anguilla and St. Croix normal; Barbados very to extremely wet; St. Vincent extremely wet; St. Lucia slight to exceptionally wet; and Antigua and St. Thomas slightly wet. Exceptionally wet conditions dominated the interior of the Guianas, while coastal Guyana was predominantly normal,  but in the vicinity of Georgetown and the coastal border of Suriname and French Guiana were below normal. Aruba was normal, but Curacao moderately wet. Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry to exceptionally wet, but in the Dominican Republic they ranged from slight to exceptionally wet. Jamaica ranged from normal in central areas to slightly dry in the east and west, but Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Eastern Cuba was normal while normal to severely dry conditions were evident in the remainder of Cuba. Conditions in Belize ranged from slightly wet in the southwest to moderately dry in the northeast.

June to November 2016

Mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean during the six month period. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry; Tobago slight to moderately dry; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados moderate to very wet; St. Vincent moderately wet; St. Lucia normal to exceptionally wet; Martinique slightly dry to slightly wet; Guadeloupe normal to slightly wet; Antigua slightly wet; St. Kitts and Anguilla normal; St. Maarten severely dry; St. Croix normal; and St. Thomas moderately wet. Large portions of the Guianas were exceptionally wet but got closer to normal (and even slightly dry) approaching the coast in some areas. Both Aruba and Curacao were normal. Conditions in Puerto Rico range from moderately dry in the southwest to moderately wet in the northeast, while in the Dominican Republic the range was from normal to exceptionally wet. Jamaica ranged from normal in central areas to slightly dry in the east and west, but Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Eastern Cuba was predominantly normal, central Cuba normal to moderately dry and western Cuba normal to above normal. Conditions in Belize ranged from slightly wet in the south to severely dry to the north.

December 2015 to November 2016

Mixed conditions were experienced in the islands of the eastern Caribbean during the twelve month period. Trinidad was normal to slightly dry; Grenada, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Anguilla and St. Croix were normal; Tobago severe to extremely dry; Barbados and St. Vincent normal to moderately wet; St. Lucia slightly dry in the north to exceptionally wet in the south; Martinique slightly dry to moderately wet; St. Kitts slightly dry; St. Maarten extremely dry; and St. Thomas slightly wet. Normal to very wet conditions were predominant in the Guianas, apart from around Georgetown, Guyana that experienced below normal rainfall. Aruba was normal while Curacao was slightly dry. Western Puerto Rico was normal while the east was normal to very wet. The Dominican Republic was slight to extremely wet. Jamaica ranged from normal in central areas to slightly dry in the east and west, but Grand Cayman was exceptionally dry. Eastern Cuba was predominantly normal, while the west ranged from moderately dry to exceptionally wet. Central Belize was normal, with conditions becoming extremely dry in the south and severely dry in the north.

December 2014 to November 2016

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.