PHILLIPSBURG, St Maarten (CMC) — The dry conditions affecting the Caribbean over the last few months are expected to continue into September for most of the region, forecasters said today.

“For the June to August, we are expecting it to be drier than usual or close to normal. So we are already dry and we are expecting the next three months to be dry,” Sheryl Etienne-LeBlanc of the St Maarten Metrological Department said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening day of the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CartiCOF) she said that for September to November, forecasters are expecting above normal conditions in the Greater Antilles, the Leeward Islands, The Bahamas, and Belize.

However, the outlook is drier-than-usual conditions everywhere else in the region.

“So, as sectors, we are to think of what that means for us. We are already in dryness, the next three months is predicted to be drier and for the southern Caribbean, extended dryness until November,” she told the biannual forums which brings together forecasters, disaster managers, and representatives from various sectors and industries across the region.

Etienne-LeBlanc said that while the data used to generate the forecasting models are sourced from across the entire Caribbean, forecasters are encouraging sectors in the various countries to contact their local metrological service for islands specific outlooks.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Drier,_hotter_wet_season_forecast_for_Caribbean