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CNMI experienced driest December in 2019
The CNMI should pay close attention to Australia, in light of the deadly fires that are rummaging the country at the moment.
While bushfires have always been experienced in Australia, the fires have been the worst this time, and it is being attributed to a phenomenon called the Indian Ocean Dipole ushering a hot and dry period. Dec. 18, 2019 also set a new temperature record, an average maximum of 41.9C.
Similarly, last month, the Marianas experienced a record low monthly rainfall of only 1.46 inches, making it one of the driest Decembers on record, based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service.
“The CNMI has experienced one of the driest Decembers on record, and the current trend and near-term forecast offer no relief and suggest that we may enter into hazardous fire conditions very soon,” NOAA’s Robbie Greene explains.
This would be an earlier entrance into “fire season” than CNMI is generally prepared for or equipped to deal with. On the islands, the core of the dry season is March, April, and May.
Without any rain in the latter days of January and on February, the CNMI could experience a long fire weather season.
“If late January or February do not offer any respite in the form of significant (and unseasonal) precipitation, then we would not get a break from the heat/aridity, and would therefore be subjected to one of the longer fire seasons on record.”
Last year, the CNMI transitioned into the dry season early in January and with it came a number of wildland fires. In May, a brush fire even engulfed hectares of vegetation in the Evergreen area in Mt. Tapochau that took a night to contain.
“We are still at least several days away from fire weather watches, but since March, April and May are the core of dry season and we are already approaching red flag criteria, this could be a long fire weather season,” the NOAA area forecast discussion read.
Wildland fires are a relatively normal occurrence during the islands’ dry season.
