Click here to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:
Summary
Streaks of heavy precipitation fell from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast and across the lower Southeast. Stormy weather also prevailed in the West, particularly in California and southwestern Oregon—but also extending inland to the Rockies. Amid the active weather pattern, an Arctic outbreak peaked on December 17-18, sending temperatures as low as -40°F across northern portions of the Plains and Intermountain West and below 0°F as far south as the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas…
The Plains
With much of the region heading into a “deep freeze” during the weekend of December 17-18, there were only small changes in the drought depiction. Much of the nation’s mid-section received snow in advance of the Arctic outbreak, but liquid totals were relatively light in areas affected by dryness and drought. In the last week, some of the most significant deterioration was noted in eastern Oklahoma and neighboring areas, where drought signals were apparent in both long- and short-term indicators and where both agricultural and hydrological impacts continue to mount. The Arctic outbreak resulted in a multitude of daily-record lows, shortly after a brief burst of warmth had spread across the southern Plains. In South Dakota, consecutive daily-record lows were set on December 17-18 in locations such as Aberdeen (-32 and -37°F); Watertown (-29 and -37°F); and Mobridge (-28 and -26°F). Other places on the Plains setting consecutive record lows included Valentine, Nebraska (-27 and -31°F); Pueblo, Colorado (-19°F both days); Tribune, Kansas (-14 and -13°F); and Dalhart, Texas (0 and -8°F). Dalhart’s record-setting lows followed a daily-record high of 73°F on December 16. Similarly and elsewhere in Texas, December 16 daily-record highs of 85°F in Childress, 78°F in Lubbock, and 76°F in Borger were followed 2 days later by daily-record lows of 7°F, 4°F, and -3°F, respectively…
The West
Recent colder storms have significantly improved Western snowpack, especially across the northern Great Basin, Intermountain West, and Pacific Northwest. As a result, areas where the heavy snow has overlapped with dryness or drought—such as northwestern Wyoming and parts of Utah—have experienced some improvement—although it is still early in the season. Meanwhile, California weathered some impressive storminess, although high-elevation snowpack continues to lag normal for this time of year. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the average water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack stood at 5 inches on December 20—roughly two-thirds of average but less than 20% of the typical April 1 peak. At the same time, basin-average precipitation since October 1 in the Sierra Nevada watersheds has totaled roughly 150 to 200% of normal. Some of the discrepancy is due to the barrage of “warm” storms that hit northern California during October. Despite the lagging snowpack, there has been ongoing drought recovery in much of northern California. Areas not dependent on snowpack, such as California’s northern coastal ranges, have seen the greatest recovery from long-term drought. Even before December’s precipitation, California’s 154 reservoirs held 18.5 million acre-feet of water by November 30, an improvement of nearly 7.6 million acre-feet from a year ago. The end-of-November statewide storage was 88% of the historic average (for this time of year) of 21.1 million acre-feet…
Looking Ahead
Mild weather will continue in many areas of the U.S., following the recent cold snap. During the weekend, however, colder air will engulf the West and return to the northern High Plains. For Thursday, precipitation highlights will include light snow spreading into the Northeast and rain developing in the Southwest. Precipitation associated with the Southwestern storm will overspread portions of the southern and eastern U.S. by Saturday. Meanwhile, a much more potent storm should arrive in northern California on Friday and reach the central High Plains by Christmas Day. Significant precipitation, including high-elevation snow, should occur throughout the West. Wind-driven snow can be expected late in the holiday weekend across the northern and central Plains and upper Midwest.
The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for December 27 – 31 calls for the likelihood of below-normal temperatures in the West, while warmer-than-normal weather should prevail across the South, East, and lower Midwest. Meanwhile, near- to above-normal precipitation in most of the country will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions across the lower Southeast and portions of the Rockies and High Plains.