Weather Updates

NOAA Says Extreme Drought Across USVI More Likely to Persist Than Improve Through Year-End

Extreme drought gripping St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John is now more likely to persist than substantially improve through the end of the year, according to a new federal seasonal outlook that says September’s increase in rainfall has not been enough to pull the territory out of its months-long drought. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center, in its Seasonal Drought Outlook released Thursday, said all three Virgin Islands have been “mired in extreme drought” for several months. Although rainfall has increased somewhat during September, forecasters said the amounts have been insufficient to break the D3 classification. D3 is one level below D4, the most severe category on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale. The outlook extends through the end of December and identifies continued low tropical activity in the Atlantic Basin as a key obstacle to meaningful relief. With the relatively quiet season expected to continue, NOAA said there is a reduced c...