AbstractExamination of the rainfall data for north‐east (NE) Brazil showed that the drought of 1983 was extensive. In the interior dry region, rainfall during the rainy season of 1983 was less than 40 per cent of the normal. Analysis of the rainfall revealed that the drought of this year was the worst in the past 20 years. Rainfall anomalies over NE Brazil are related to the Southern Oscillation and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Variations in the Southern Oscillation index preceded the corresponding rainfall anomalies by about 2 months. Correlation coefficient between the NE Brazil seasonal rainfall and mean monthly SST anomaly in the tropical Atlantic showed a gradual increase from January to March. However, examination of sea surface temperature anomalies in the Atlantic for the first 3 months of 1983 indicated only a weak relationship with rainfall anomalies. This suggests that for the 1983 event east‐west Walker type circulation was more important than the north‐south meridional circulations forced by SST anomalies in the Atl