Lower than normal rainfall recorded on Saipan, other islands

A drought statement has been issued for the Marianas by the National Weather Service as rainfall in the islands has been well below normal and will continue to be so in the next several months.

On Saipan, NWS said rainfall has been lower than normal the last couple of days.

NWS released the expanded drought statement last Thursday, saying that experimental drought assessments of the U.S. Drought Monitor indicate that many locations across Micronesia are entering a period of moderate to severe drought.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, NWS Forecast Office Guam warning coordination meteorologist Chip Guard said that we are entering the second phase of the current El Nino.

“The drought pattern is setting up. El Nino has two phases, it has the wet phase which was all the typhoon activity we had and it has the dry phase and now we’re entering the dry phase. That could last in the CNMI until August,” Guard said.

After the mature phase of a strong El —the current event being considered as one of strongest El Ninos in history—increasingly dry conditions usually develop across Micronesia.

As such, drought is already affecting islands of the Republic of Palau and Yap State. In the coming months, drought is expected to develop for the Mariana Islands and parts of Chuuk State, NWS said.

Low rainfall

Despite some rains that were experienced in Saipan the last few days, Guard said these are not enough.

“You’re still getting some rain but not as much as you normally get,” Guard said, “It’s not raining as often, it’s not raining as hard, it’s not raining as long.”

In Saipan, 4.03 inches of rain was recorded last December, which was only a little lower than normal. However, this month, the island has received only about 50 percent so far of the rain that it usually gets.

NWS recorded from Jan. 1 to Jan. 20 only 1.13 inches of rain, far from the normal 2.47 inches.

According to NWS, computer models indicate that a quarter inch or less of rain will fall through the next 10 days for most areas of the Commonwealth.

“Longer range models indicate very dry weather will continue through the next month or two at least,” NWS said.

According to the weather service, water supplies “need to be monitored very closely” and water conservation is “highly encouraged” in the CNMI as rainfall has been below normal the past couple of months and will continue on to the next several months.

Guam is experiencing worse rainfall conditions as only 1.91 inches of rain was recorded for the island this month compared to its normal 3.41 inches.

Koror which has the highest normal rainfall amount for this month compared to other islands in the Micronesia and Marianas only experienced about 0.84 inch of rain—a far cry from the normal 7.32 inches.