Drought Information Statement for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Valid April 3rd, 2024 Issued By: WFO San Juan, PR Contact Information: sr-sju.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated when drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/sju/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. U.S. Drought Monitor DROUGHT CONDITIONS: Drought conditions continue, but rainfall continued to provide targeted relief across the region. Drought Intensity and Extent: Saint Thomas, USVI: remains under a Abnormally Drought (D0) conditions. Puerto Rico: Although improving, Abnormally Drought (D0) to Moderate Drought (D1) conditions persist across portions of eastern and western Puerto Rico. Recent Change in Drought Intensity U.S. Drought Monitor Class Change: 1 Class improvement is observed in Saint Thomas, Vieques, Culebra, and much of Puerto Rico, especially in the eastern interior, central interior, western interior, north-central, western, south-central, and southwestern regions. 2 Class improvement is observed for portions of Puerto Rico, particularly concentrated in the Caguas-San Juan-Bayamon region in the east, Ponce-Adjuntas-Sabana Grande area in the south, and Utuado-Arecibo-Camuy area in the north. Rainfall Recent rains has led to nearly 75% of COOP stations reaching above-normal levels. However, around 50% of stations still register below-normal levels within the 90-day timeframe. Summary of Impacts Agricultural Impact N/A Fire Hazard Impacts N/A Mitigation Actions N/A Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts The latest 28-day average historical streamflow from USGS can be found in WaterWatch The 28-day average streamflow from the USGS river gauge network indicates nearly 75% of streamflows are running between normal to above normal. Streamflows at below to much below normal concentrate along the south-central and eastern third portion of the island. Most Groundwater wells are at optimal conditions across southern Puerto Rico, except for JAC-6 in Juana Díaz which remains at observational levels. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The Global Tropics Hazards Outlook indicate: Week 2 - Below-average rainfall across the northern Caribbean region between April 3-9, 2024. Week 3 - NO predictability (neither above/below average favored) for the period spanning between April 10-16, 2024. Long-Range Outlooks The latest three-months precipitation outlook can be found on the CPC homepage In the North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME), favors above normal precipitation for the period of April through June 2024. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Based on the latest forecast, drought conditions will persist across portions of northeastern and northwestern Puerto Rico. No drought conditions are expected across Vieques, Culebra, and all of the U.S. Virgin Islands.