Drought · Guam

Wotje and Jaluit started August in severe (D2) drought, while the rest of the RMI was at moderate (D1) or better. The improvement of conditions across the RMI during the latter half of July continued through August. From July 29th to August 3rd, 1.91 inches fell at Jaluit and 2.70 inches on Wotje, allowing the the U.S. Drought Monitor in their August 5th analysis to improve Wotje to D1 intensity. Note: Rainfall reports for Jaluit were slow to be reported, so Jaluit was marked as No Data for the August 5th and 12th analysis but when data was backfilled for the August 19th analysis, Jaluit was at no drought or dryness, and likely dropped to moderate drought back on August 5th as well. Jaluit ended the month with a rainfall total of 3.77 inches and Wotje with 5.60 inches.

Drought conditions continued to ease across the Marshall Islands, with only Wotje and Jaluit still in Severe (D2) drought at the beginning of August. An active trade-wind/ITCZ pattern that started in July continued through August, as the beginning of a La Nia-esque sea surface temperature (SST) pattern started to develop in the central Pacific. This increased the frequency that islands were meeting their weekly 2-inch minimums to meet typical water needs.