SPI Monitor October 2016

October 2016

Rainfall was mixed over the eastern Caribbean and the Guianas for the month. Trinidad and St. Maarten were exceptionally dry; Tobago, Antigua, St. Kitts, and St. Croix moderately dry; Grenada slightly dry; Barbados and St. Vincent normal; St. Lucia normal to moderately wet; Dominica normal to slightly dry; St. Thomas moderately wet; and the Guianas mainly very to exceptionally wet in the south, and in the north ranging from moderately wet to exceptionally dry. Aruba was normal, but Curacao slightly dry. Puerto Rico was predominantly normal. In the Dominican Republic conditions ranged from normal in more western and eastern areas to very wet in the north and extremely wet in the south. Western Jamaica was slightly dry and eastern normal, while Grand Cayman was normal. The southern half of Belize was normal while the northern half ranged from slightly dry to severely dry.

August to October 2016

For the three month period, mixed conditions were experienced in the eastern Caribbean and the Guianas. Trinidad was moderate to severely dry; Tobago and Grenada moderately dry; Barbados, St. Vincent, Antigua and St. Kitts normal; St. Maarten extremely dry; St. Thomas slightly wet; St. Croix slightly dry; and the Guianas largely exceptionally wet with the exception of northern Guyana and parts of northern Suriname. Aruba was normal, but Curacao slightly dry. Puerto Rico was predominantly normal. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from slightly dry in the east and west to exceptionally wet in the north. Western Jamaica was slightly dry and eastern areas moderately dry, but Grand Cayman extremely dry. Areas in south and northwest Belize were normal, but other areas ranged to moderately dry.

May to October 2016

Apart from St. Lucia that was normal to extremely wet, rainfall in the islands of the eastern Caribbean was normal to below normal for the six month period. Trinidad was slight to moderately dry; Tobago severely dry; Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Thomas normal; St. Maarten extremely dry and St. Croix slightly dry. The Guianas were predominantly exceptionally wet. Aruba was normal but Curacao moderately dry. Apart from in the northwest that was slight to extremely dry, Puerto Rico was predominantly normal. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from moderately dry in the west to moderately wet further east, north and south. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was severely dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from slightly wet in the south to severely dry in the north.

November 2015 to October 2016

Mixed conditions were experienced over the eastern Caribbean and the Guianas. Trinidad was slight to moderately dry; Tobago and St. Maarten extremely dry; Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua, and St. Croix normal; St. Vincent moderately dry; St. Lucia from normal in the north to extremely wet in the south; St. Kitts moderately dry; St. Thomas moderately wet; and in the Guianas, apart from a portion of the north around Georgetown that was moderately dry, there were normal to exceptionally wet conditions. Aruba was moderately dry and Curacao severely dry. Puerto Rico ranged from slightly dry in the west to moderately wet in the east. Conditions in the Dominican Republic ranged from slightly dry in the west to extremely wet in the south and north. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was extremely dry. Conditions in Belize ranged from extremely dry in the south to very wet in the north.

 

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.