Drought · Virgin Islands

Extreme (D3) to exceptional (D4) drought persisted across St. Croix. The lack of rains caused a significant fire across Frederiksted in agricultural lands. The extreme heat event also exacerbated the damage to cattle and poultry, and the lacks of rains affected the crops in the islands. The island of St. Croix was briefly under a Exceptional Drought, but the rains at the end of the month improved conditions a little.

Exceptional Drought (D4) and Severe Drought (D2) were observed for St. Croix, and St. Thomas and Saint John, respectively. Some relief from the dry pattern was observed by the end of the month, but the islands remain under a rainfall deficit. In fact, the year to date deficits range from 5 to 6 inches at the international airports. Across St. Croix, the combination of the heat and drought is causing stress in vegetation, cattle and poultry. Veterinarians are asking to double the ration of water for the animals, due to the drought stress. Farmers are also reporting the death of several animals and are taking extra precautions to protect them from the heat and drought. A Territorial Fire Ban is in effect

for the islands.