No changes were made this week in Alaska.
In the Hawaiian Islands, the cumulative impact of several significant storm events has erased drought across the island chain, except some areas on the Big Island which have some remaining longer-term deficits as well as areas of dryness showing up on satellite-based vegetation health indices.
At the beginning of the drought week, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) experienced the passage of a shear line fragment and spotty showers. Several days later, surface high pressure moved off the coast of Japan, which tightened the pressure gradient with the Near-Equatorial Trough (NET) which led to an increase in both ocean swell and winds. Rip currents were a concern for northward and eastward facing beaches. The second half of the drought week was associated with a seasonal trade-wind pattern attended by considerable cloud cover and scattered showers. Over the western Federated States of Micronesia (w-FSM), the nearby NET displayed the presence of an embedded circulation early in the drought week, while Palau was near a convergence zone produced by the circulation and the prevailing northeast winds. Drier conditions were noted for Yap and Palau. What remained of tropical disturbance 99W passed over Weno (the capital of Chuuk). Wet weather ensued at Chuuk, as a trade wind surge brought an increase in both showers and thunderstorms. Later in the drought week, the main two features for the w-FSM region included the NET and the incoming Invest 90W. South of the NET axis, scattered to numerous showers were observed on satellite imagery. For Palau and Yap, a dry trade wind pattern remained over the region, with the exception of an approaching trough which was expected to produce only a few showers. For the eastern FSM region (e-FSM), a tropical disturbance was located near Kiribati near the start of the drought week, producing heavy rainfall and gusty winds as it drifted around. The combination of this disturbance and the NET brought unsettled weather conditions to the region. A deepening in ITCZ convection as it interacted with the NET and embedded NET disturbance downstream, brought periods of intense showers, thunderstorms, and strong to near gale-force winds to Pohnpei and Kosrae, and extended farther east into Majuro, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). In the South Pacific, Tropical Cyclone (TC) Vaianu, remained well west and south of American Samoa, with little if any direct impacts from this system before the drought week came to a close.
Satellite-based rainfall estimates (from SPoRT GPM/IMERG) for the past 7-days ending 12z Apr 7 show a pattern that broadly favors the heavier precipitation amounts (1-4 inches) over central and eastern portions of the USAPI domain north of the equator. Much of this was consolidated into linear or quasi-linear bands, especially over the southern and eastern RMI. Smaller-scale clumps of more isolated convection were noted in the vicinity of Pohnpei. Much of the CNMI and w-FSM (including Palau) were shown to have received under a half-inch of precipitation for the week.
In the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) rainfall amounts were relatively light this past drought week ranging from 0.07-inch at Agat to 0.68-inch at Saipan International Airport. The previous three months have been “wet” in Saipan (exceeding the minimum water requirement of 4 inches), with 13.72 inches being recorded in March alone. Rota Airport measured 0.19-inch of rain this week, with every month from June 2025 through March 2026 registering “wet”. The March total of 15.94 inches is nearly four times the monthly minimum water requirement of 4 inches. Dededo came in with 0.21-inch for the week, with two days of data missing. Guam reported 0.34-inch of rain this past drought week, with the previous five weeks being wet, as well as each month from June 2025 through March 2026. Guam received 14.90 inches in March. There was not enough data to perform a reliable analysis at Tinian this week. Though this was a dry week for the CNMI, the amount of precipitation received in past months (including March 2026) was more than enough to justify the ongoing drought-free conditions.
The Republic of Palau experienced a very dry week, with only 0.15-inch of precipitation measured at Koror (2 days of missing data) and 0.23-inch at Airai (WSO Palau). The March 2026 monthly totals were 11.20 inches and 12.62 inches, respectively, which easily surpassed the 8-inch minimum water requirement. Despite this very dry week in Palau, past months (including March) have been wet. Drought-free conditions continue.
Across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), rainfall amounts ranged from 0.09-inch at Ulithi to 10.81 inches at Pohnpei. Intermediate values included 0.17-inch (1 day missing) at Rumung, 0.29-inch at North Fanif, 0.37-inch (1 day missing) at Gilman, 0.55-inch (1 day missing) at Yap Island, 1.19 inches at Lukunoch, 1.22 inches (1 day missing) at Kosrae, 1.28 inches at Kapingamarangi, 1.38 inches at Nukuoro, and 6.72 inches at Chuuk. Only Chuuk and Pohnpei exceeded the 2-inch weekly minimum requirement this week to meet most water needs. Fananu, Pingelap, and Woleai did not report precipitation amounts this week and were therefore left out of the analyses. One station that bears monitoring is Lukunoch, currently depicted as D0(S). The previous three months, January, February, and March 2026 reported rainfall totals of 6.73 inches, 5.95 inches, and 6.11 inches, respectively, all falling short of the 8-inch minimum threshold.
In the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), measured rainfall amounts ranged from 0.60-inch at Jaluit (though with 4 days of missing data) to 3.57 inches at Majuro. Intermediate values included 0.70-inch at Utirik, 1.62 inches at Wotje, 1.79 inches at Mili, 2.41 inches at Kwajalein, and 2.74 inches at Ailinglaplap. Weekly minimum water requirements of at least 2 inches were therefore met at Kwajalein, Ailinglaplap, and Majuro. For the month of March 2026, precipitation amounts included 3.49 inches at Wotje (“dry”), 6.49 inches at Kwajalein (dry), 7.70 inches at Utirik (dry), 16.17 inches at Ailinglaplap (wet), and a whopping 20.30 inches at Mili (wet). Based on Automated Weather Station (AWS) data, a 1-category improvement was rendered to the drought depictions at both Utirik (now becomes D2-S) and Wotje (now becomes D1-S).
In the South Pacific, American Samoa precipitation during the past drought week included 0.61-inch (1-day missing) at Toa Ridge, 0.79-inch at Pago Pago Airport, and 1.95-inch (1-day missing) at Siufaga Ridge. Though Siufaga Ridge came close to reaching the 2-inch weekly minimum cutoff, all three locations fell short this week and came in as “dry”. During the week before last, Pago Pago reported 6.20 inches (wet), and the March total was 11.96 inches (wet). For March, Siufaga Ridge observed 7.22 inches of rain (dry) and Toa Ridge observed 7.65 inches (dry). No changes were deemed necessary this week to the drought depiction for American Samoa.
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