SPI Discussion August 2014

August 2014

Apart from Anguilla that was abnormally dry, normal to above normal rainfall was experienced in the eastern Caribbean and Guyana for August. Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and St. Maarten were all normal; St. Kitts moderately wet; and St. Croix extremely wet. Puerto Rico was very to extremely wet, while Aruba was abnormally dry. Both Jamaica and Grand Cayman were normal. Central Cuba was dominated by normal conditions, while western areas were abnormal to moderately wet and eastern areas abnormal to very wet. Rainfall in Belize ranged from extremely dry in the south to moderately dry in the north.

June 2014 to August 2014

Apart from Trinidad that was normal to abnormally wet, the islands of the eastern Caribbean were normal to below normal for the three month period. Tobago and Dominica were abnormally dry; Grenada and Antigua severely dry; Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Anguilla moderately dry; St. Kitts and St. Croix normal. Guyana conditions ranged from being very wet in the west to moderately dry in the east. Puerto Rico was normal, but Aruba was moderately dry. Jamaica was moderately dry to the south and abnormally dry in the north, while Grand Cayman was normal. The eastern portion of Cuba was predominantly normal, while the west was abnormal to moderately dry. In Belize, the west was extremely dry and the east exceptionally dry.

March 2014 to August 2014

Apart from St. Croix that was abnormally wet, the islands of the eastern Caribbean were normal to below normal. Trinidad, St. Kitts and Anguilla were normal; Tobago, St. Lucia, Dominica and Antigua moderately dry; Grenada severely dry; and St. Maarten abnormally dry. Guyana conditions ranged from very wet in the northwest to exceptionally dry in the east. Puerto Rico was normal, but Aruba was severely dry. Jamaica ranged from abnormally wet in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was abnormally dry. The western portion of Cuba was abnormal to moderately dry while the east was normal to moderately wet. Belize experienced extremely dry conditions in the south and severely dry conditions in the north.

September 2013 to August 2014

Diverse rainfall amounts were experienced between the normal to above normal northern and southern extremes, and the central eastern Caribbean. Trinidad was abnormal to moderately wet; Tobago, St. Vincent, and Anguilla normal; Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and St. Kitts moderately dry; St. Maarten abnormally dry; St. Croix abnormally wet; and Guyana ranging from very wet in the northwest to normal in the east. Puerto Rico was abnormally wet, while Aruba was severely dry. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from normal in the west to moderately dry in the east, while Grand Cayman was normal. Apart from the western one-third that was abnormal to exceptionally wet, Cuba was normal. Conditions in Belize were from moderately wet in the west to normal in the east.

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.