As storms hit much of PR, latest weekly figures reflect gradual easing of drought conditions

As strong storms impacted large parts of Puerto Rico on Thursday, the National Weather Service in San Juan issued a warning about wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, heavy rain and frequent lightning. Meanwhile, the U.S. Drought Monitor released its latest data for the island, which indicated that 68% of Puerto Rico is experiencing some level of drought, while 37.1% of the territory is classified as being in extreme drought. The numbers for the most part showed the continuation of a gradual easing of drought conditions as reported by the Drought Monitor last week.

By THE STAR STAFF

As strong storms impacted large swaths of Puerto Rico on Thursday, featuring wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, heavy rain and frequent lightning and prompting the National Weather Service in San Juan to issue a warning, the U.S. Drought Monitor released its latest data for the island, which indicated that 68% of Puerto Rico is experiencing some level of drought, while 37.1% of the territory is classified as being in extreme drought.

The data, current as of Sept. 15, show that 10.8% of Puerto Rico is under moderate drought, 20.1% under severe drought (an increase from the previous week), and 37.1% under extreme drought.

No area of ​​the island is classified as experiencing exceptional drought, the highest category on the scale.

Another 5.8 percent of Puerto Rico is classified as abnormally dry -- a category identifying areas that could be entering or emerging from drought conditions.

The Drought Monitor map shows the most severe conditions across large areas of eastern and southern Puerto Rico, while sectors in the west and northwest show less intense conditions or remain outside the drought categories.

The seasonal forecast updated on Thursday anticipates that drought conditions will persist in parts of Puerto Rico through Dec. 31.

The new data indicated a general continuation of the moderate easing of drought conditions as indicated in the previous week’s report, which showed the extent of the drought dropping from 75.2% to 69.1% of the island. Last week’s report also showed that extreme drought had receded as of Sept. 8, affecting 39.5% of Puerto Rico, down from the 41% recorded two weeks ago. Severe drought, meanwhile, decreased from 21.3% to 18.3% of the territory, according to last week’s report from the Drought Monitor.

Puerto Rico has faced severe drought episodes in the past. Between 2014 and 2016, conditions necessitated water restrictions that affected more than a million people and caused agricultural losses exceeding $14 million. Rationing measures were also implemented and a drought state of emergency was declared in 2020.