Drought — Rota, Guam

2025-05-13 to 2025-05-31 · Rota, Guam

Event narrative

By May 13th, rainfall across Rota had fallen behind the 4 or more inches considered ideal to meet with demand. Year-to-date, as of May 13th, rainfall at Rota was 10.35 inches (normal 19.15 inches), degrading to D2 (Severe) drought. Rota would further degrade to D3 (Extreme) drought on May 20th as eyewitness reported withering plants and wildfires, with a rancher reporting the death of 6 cattle due to drought conditions. Livestock losses were listed as property damage and were estimated to be around 8.25 Thousand $USD.

Wider weather episode

By May 13th, rainfall across both Guam and Rota had fallen behind the 4 or more inches considered ideal to meet with demand. Year-to-date, as of May 13th, rainfall at Rota was 10.35 inches (normal 19.15 inches) and Guam recorded 14.07 inches (normal 17.46 inches). Several wildfires have broken out on Guam, and farmers have reported serious crop an livestock stress on Guam and Rota.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1274987. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.