August 18, 2026 National Drought Summary

The discussion in the Looking Ahead section is simply a description of what the official national guidance from the National Weather Service (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction is depicting for current areas of dryness and drought. The NWS forecast products utilizedinclude the HPC 5-day QPF and 5-day Mean Temperature progs, the 6-10 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, and the 8-14Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, valid as of late Wednesday afternoon of the USDM release week. The NWS forecast webpage used for this section is: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/forecasts/.

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Short-term extreme drought continued across the U.S. Virgin Islands this week. Rainfall amounts were paltry in most areas, with up to 0.29 inches on St. John and up to 0.56 inches on St. Croix, with smaller amounts in most locations. Vegetation continued to struggle this week, and groundwater levels remained about the same or dropped amidst extremely low 1- and 3-month rain totals. While the current short-term drought, statistically, is not yet at exceptional drought level, conditions will be monitored for possible degradation moving forward if dry weather continues. In addition to adverse impacts to vegetation and well levels, widespread livestock casualties have also been reported.

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Little to no rain fell this week in American Samoa at Pago Pago, Siufaga Ridge and Toa Ridge. Moderate short-term drought developed, as less than 1 inch of rain has fallen four of the last five weeks at Pago Pago.

A dry week occurred in Palau following a few recent dry weeks with less than 1 inch of rain. Satellite imagery also suggested drying of vegetation in some areas, and short-term abnormal dryness developed.

The Mariana Islands remained free of drought or abnormal dryness this week. On Saipan, 0.63 inches of rain fell this week after 3.11 inches fell last week. On Tinian, the week was drier, with 0.18 inches of rain having been reported (with a couple days missing). However, 6.01 inches of rain fell there last week. On Rota, 3.1 inches of rain fell, continuing a recent wet spell there. On Guam, 0.67 inches of rain fell this week after 4.82 fell last week.

Utirik, Wotje, Majuro and Mili remained free of drought or abnormal dryness this week. Utirik reported 0.75 inches of rain this week after just 0.06 inches last week, but over 2 inches the week prior kept conditions from degrading to abnormal dryness this week. In Wotje, 1.95 inches of rain were reported this week. In Majuro, 3.76 inches of rain were reported, and in Mili, 5.79 inches of rain fell, marking two weeks in a row with at least 5 inches of rain. Kwajalein remained free of drought or abnormal dryness this week after 2.27 inches of rain fell. In Ailinglapalap, 1.73 inches of rain were reported, with one day missing, and conditions remained free of drought or abnormal dryness. In Jaluit, 1.68 inches of rain were reported, with one day missing, marking the third week in a row with less than 2 inches of rain, and short-term abnormal dryness developed.

Dry weather continued for another week in Yap, with no rain having been reported this week, marking the third week in a row with less than 1 inch of rain, and short-term abnormal dryness developed. In Ulithi, 0.21 inches of rain fell, marking the third consecutive week with less than 2 inches of rain. Conditions will be further monitored there, though the conditions are not yet abnormally dry. In Woleai, 0.33 inches of rain fell this week, marking the second week in a row with less than an inch of rain. In Chuuk, 10.12 inches of rain fell this week, over half of which fell on Aug. 18. In Lukunor, 5.94 inches of rain fell after a much drier preceding 2 weeks. In Nukuoro, 3.19 inches of rain fell this week after three weeks in a row with less than 2 inches. In Kapingamarangi, 1.57 inches of rain fell, marking two weeks in a row with less than 2 inches of rain. However, wet conditions prior to this have kept abnormal levels of dryness at bay. In Pohnpei, 8.14 inches of rain fell this week. In Kosrae, 13.76 inches of rain fell this week. No Drought Monitor depictions were made in Fananu or Pingelap, as no data were available for those locations.

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