Click on a thumbnail graphic to view a gallery of drought data from the US Drought Monitor website.
Click the link to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:
This Week’s Drought Summary
This U.S. Drought Monitor week saw both improvements and degradations across the country, shaped largely by uneven precipitation and widespread colder-than-normal temperatures. Much of the nation was colder than normal, with the sharpest departures in the Midwest and Northeast, where most of the week’s moisture fell as snow and offered limited short-term help for soils and streams. In the West, storm systems delivered substantial rain and mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, improving conditions in parts of Washington, northwest Oregon, western Montana and eastern Idaho. However, areas that missed the heaviest precipitation—especially central and southern Oregon, central Idaho and southwestern Montana—saw drought expand as snowpack remained well below normal. Parts of the Southwest, including southeastern California and western Arizona, continued to improve as moisture from earlier storms worked through the hydrologic system, while east-central Nevada saw worsening drought due to very low snowpack and long-term precipitation deficits.
The central and southern Plains did not see any meaningful precipitation this week, leading to conditions remaining largely unchanged outside of localized areas. Short-term dryness worsened in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, where precipitation deficits continue to accumulate. In the east, several areas along the Gulf Coast and Southeast received 1 to 3 inches of rain, leading to widespread improvement short-term dryness and drought in southern Alabama, southern Georgia, the Florida Panhandle and portions of the Carolinas. Despite moderate precipitation in southern Florida and parts of the interior Southeast, longer-term precipitation deficits led to dryness continuing to intensify. In the Midwest and Northeast, cold temperatures and predominantly frozen precipitation led to limited improvements and degradations in areas that missed precipitation…
High Plains
Conditions across the High Plains changed very little this week as much of the region received only light precipitation and remained colder than normal. The Dakotas saw little meaningful moisture, and Nebraska saw none, leaving drought conditions unchanged. In Kansas, a lack of precipitation combined with continued short-term dryness led to an expansion of abnormal dryness (D0) that stretched into northeastern Oklahoma.
In eastern Wyoming, dryness increased where precipitation was limited, resulting in some expansion of abnormal dryness. In eastern Colorado, light snowfall helped ease small pockets of abnormal dryness, though most areas saw little change…
West
Out West, there was a mixture of improvements and degradations. Improvements were seen in the Southwest despite no precipitation this week. Prior weeks’ moisture has made its way into the hydrologic cycle, as seen in improving streamflows and soil moisture. Despite snow falling across the Rocky Mountains, many stations continue to report that the snow water equivalent (SWE) is below the 30th percentile. Snowpack levels in the northern Rockies are doing better, with many stations showing snowpack at 100 percent for this time of year, which was further improved with 1 to 2 feet of snow falling across western Montana and eastern Idaho. This moisture led to areas of improvement in northwest Montana. Improvements were also seen along the Idaho-Wyoming border where up to 2.5 feet of snow fell. Southwestern Montana and central Idaho, which are experiencing below-normal snowpack, missed out on the snow and saw the expansion of moderate drought (D1) across the border. Over the Pacific Northwest, storms brought upwards of 6 to 8 inches of precipitation, where many stations in the Cascades are reporting below snowpack below 50 percent of normal. Areas in central Washington into northwest Oregon saw improvements as some short-term metrics were more aligned with moderate drought (D1) conditions rather than severe drought (D2). Central and southern Oregon, which missed out on the heaviest precipitation, saw the expansion of abnormal dryness (D0) and moderate drought (D1)…
South
The South saw mostly improvements this week following a mixture of below-normal temperatures and heavy rainfall. One-class improvements were seen from far eastern Texas to Mississippi where 1.5 to 3 inches of rain fell, with parts of southern Louisiana recording 5 to 6 inches of rain. Areas of central Texas and the Panhandle that improved last week, continued to see improvements in soil moisture and streamflows, leading to further improvements this week. Isolated degradation did occur in Texas’ southwestern Panhandle as well in northeastern Oklahoma as lack of precipitation continues to stress soils and lead to lower streamflows…
Looking Ahead
According to the National Weather Service’s 5-day quantitative precipitation forecast (valid from Dec. 11 -16) the heaviest precipitation is forecast across the Pacific Northwest, especially along the coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon, and far northern California, where totals may exceed 5 to 10. Moderate precipitation is also expected across the northern Rockies and into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with widespread amounts between 0.5 and 2 inches and localized areas of higher amounts where terrain enhances moisture, such as elevation and lake-effect snow. Across the South and Southeast, a broad area of lighter but steady rain is anticipated from eastern Texas through the Gulf Coast states and into the Carolinas, generally ranging from 0.5 to 2 inches. The Northeast is also expected to pick up around 1 to 2 inches. In contrast, much of the Interior West—including the Great Basin, Southwest and central Rockies—shows little to no precipitation.
The Climate Prediction Center’s 6 to 10 day outlook (valid Dec. 16–20) favors widespread above- normal temperatures across most of the Lower 48, with the highest likelihood for above-normal temperatures centered over the Four Corners region and extending across the western and southern U.S. Much of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast also lean warmer than average, while only a small pocket of near-normal temperatures is suggested in parts of the northern Plains. Cooler-than-normal conditions are limited to coastal New England and portions of Alaska, where the highest chances for below-normal temperatures appear. Precipitation patterns show more divide with wetter-than-normal conditions favored across the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies, the Upper Midwest and parts of Hawaii. In contrast, drier-than-normal conditions are likely across the central and southern Rockies, the central Plains and much of the Southeast, with the strongest dry signal centered over Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. Near-normal precipitation is expected across broad sections of the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Interior West.
