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

Heavy to excessive rainfall impacted significant parts of the Contiguous States this past week. Amounts of 4 to locally over 8 inches of rain were common across south-central and southeastern Georgia, northeastern Florida, the Florida Panhandle, portions of the immediate Gulf Coast, and a swath from central Texas through the middle Red River (South) Valley. This brought an abrupt end to a protracted spell of hot and dry weather across the southern Great Plains that dated back through most of the summer. Dallas, TX recorded 4 inches of rain from September 30 through the first week of October, including a daily total of 3.47 inches on October 1. Prior to that, Dallas recorded only 0.01 inch of rainfall July 16 through September 29 (76 days), and a total of 2.27 inches going back to June 8. Elsewhere, a few broad areas recorded at least 2 inches for the week, including most of the Gulf Coast, southern Alabama, central and southern Georgia, the northern half of Florida, a large stripe through central and adjacent eastern Texas, central through southeastern Oklahoma, and in numerous patches from southeastern Colorado and much of Kansas through southeastern Nebraska, portions of Iowa, northern Missouri, northern Illinois, and the central to southern Great Lakes Region. In some of the wetter locations across the central Plains and adjacent Front Range, impacts improved substantially enough to justify 2-cagegory improvements on the Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, several patches across northern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, and the adjacent Lower Ohio Valley also received 2 or more inches of rain. Moderate totals exceeding 0.5 inch, with localized totals topping 2 inches, affected areas from the central High Plains and southern half of the Great Plains eastward and northeastward through much of the Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys, the central and southern Great Lakes, the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic Region, and the St. Lawrence Valley. Meanwhile, light precipitation at best was observed through most of the Northeast, the Upper Ohio Valley, the far Upper Mississippi Valley, the northern Great Plains, and most areas from the High Plains to the Pacific Coast outside Kansas, Colorado, and northern New Mexico. Many existing areas of drought that were impacted by the heavy precipitation experienced marked relief, but despite expansive areas receiving little or no measurable precipitation, drought intensification was limited in extent, largely due to the lower temperatures and the typical autumnal decline in human and environmental water demand…

High Plains

Widespread heavy precipitation abetted robust improvement across eastern Colorado, central and western Kansas, and parts of southern Nebraska. Numerous locations reported 3 to locally over 6 inches of rain, which was sufficient to support 2-category improvements in portions of southeastern Colorado and the western half of Kansas. Precipitation amounts declined abruptly north of a line from central Colorado through northeastern Nebraska, and only a few tenths of an inch at best was observed beyond this delineation. Still, improvements were introduced in parts of the central and northern Dakotas where earlier precipitation may have been more beneficial than initially assessed. The only areas of deterioration noted were in northeastern Colorado and part of north-central Wyoming, which consistently have been north and/or west of the heaviest precipitation. Elsewhere, dryness and drought intensities did not markedly change from last week…

West

Moderate to heavy precipitation (0.5 to locally approaching 2.0 inches) fell early in the period across north-central and northeastern New Mexico, but conditions were quiet across the rest of the West Region. There were scattered small areas reporting a few tenths of an inch of precipitation last week, primarily in Montana and the lower Four Corners States, while most sites observed no measurable amounts. But despite the predominantly dry week, fairly substantial areas of improvement were noted as the environmental response to earlier above-normal to heavy precipitation continued. Improvement was most common this week across New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana, with a few areas also noted in southeastern Idaho and Utah. Across almost all of Nevada, Idaho, and the three West Coast States, dryness and drought were essentially unchanged from the prior week…

South

A variable precipitation pattern was observed across Tennessee and the Lower Mississippi Valley last week, resulting in some areas of nominal improvement (scattered across eastern Tennessee, southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and northern and northwestern Arkansas) and other areas of somewhat increased moisture deficits and deterioration (scattered across central and western Tennessee, southern and eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, and central through southwestern Louisiana). Farther west, across Texas and Oklahoma, broad areas recorded heavy to excessive precipitation, resulting in several sizeable areas of widespread improvement. Multiple inches of rain – for the second consecutive week in some areas – induced improvements across most of southeastern and Deep South Texas, and in a swath from central Texas through much of the Red River (South) Valley into central Oklahoma. Farther west, across the Big Bend and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, light to moderate precipitation following the excessive amounts recorded last week led to widespread one-category improvements. Enough precipitation was observed to support 2-category improvements at a few locations in Deep South Texas, south-central Oklahoma, and the western Oklahoma Panhandle. There were a few patches in southwestern Texas and the northern interior missing the heavy precipitation that hit most locations over the past couple of weeks, resulting in scattered spots of deterioration. Improvement was far more common across Texas and Oklahoma, however, as opposed to the mixed bag of changes noted farther east…

Looking Ahead

During October 7-12, Tropical Storm Isaias in the southwestern Gulf is expected to intensify into a category-2 hurricane and head northeastward and then northward toward the United States. After peaking in intensity and beginning to weaken, landfall is expected somewhere along the north-central or northeastern Gulf Coast late October 9. Once inland, Isaias should weaken more quickly as the remnant circulation tracks northward into the Southeast or adjacent Lower Mississippi Valley. Sustained winds are expected to peak around 105 mph in the northern Gulf, but with weakening expected to start prior to landfall up to a couple hundred miles inland. A surge of tropical moisture is expected to accompany Isaias into the Southeast, bringing moderate to heavy rains into the region, reaching as far northward as the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic Region. By the end of the period, upwards of 7 inches of rain are expected in a few parts of the Florida Panhandle, and amounts exceeding 3 inches are forecast as far north as northern Alabama and adjacent areas in Mississippi and Georgia. Most areas along the Carolinas Coast are also expected to receive over 3 inches of rain. Farther west, another push of tropical moisture into the interior West could bring 3 to 6 inches of precipitation to isolated spots in the higher elevations of northeastern Utah and west-central Wyoming. At least 1.5 inches of rain are anticipated from central Mississippi eastward, reaching as far north as the Tennessee Valley, southern Appalachians, and Mid-Atlantic Region. Scattered locations in the higher elevations of the interior West and southern California Coastal Ranges are also forecast to record over 1.5 inches of precipitation by October 12. Moderate amounts exceeding 0.5 inch should cover southernmost Florida along with the greater Ohio Valley, most of the Appalachians, central and southern New York, and southern New England. Many lower elevations across the interior West are also expected to see at least 0.5 inch. In contrast, little or no precipitation is expected in many areas impacted by dryness and drought, including the Far West to the north and west of the Sierra Nevada, most of the Plains and Great Lakes Region, and western reaches of the Lower Mississippi Valley. Above-normal temperatures are anticipated across a broad swath of the Nation’s Midsection from the southern and central Plains through the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes Region. Daily high temperatures are expected to average at least 4 deg. F above normal there, with anomalies exceeding +10 deg. F from north-central Texas through most of Oklahoma and adjacent parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Farther west, most locations from the northern and western Rockies to the Pacific Coast are expecting below normal temperatures, along with most of Montana. Daily highs are expected to average at least 3 deg. F below normal from the Cascades southward and eastward, with anomalies of -8 to -12 deg. F forecast in the northern Great Basin, northern Rockies, and High Plains of Montana.

Wetter than normal conditions are expected over the ensuing 5 days (October 13-17) across a large part of the Contiguous U.S. from the Rockies and northern High Plains eastward through New England, the Mid-Atlantic Region, the southern Appalachians, and the Florida Panhandle. The best odds for unusually heavy precipitation extend from the central and lower Four Corners Region eastward through Texas, the Red River (South) Valley, and the western Lower Mississippi Valley. At least marginally enhanced chances for surplus precipitation also cover all of Alaska and Hawaii. Only west-central and northern California and southwestern Oregon have nominally increased chances of subnormal precipitation. Meanwhile, above-normal temperatures are favored across much of the Pacific Northwest and over a large area including the Southeast, central and southern Appalachians, southern Great Lakes Region, Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, central and southern Great Plains, and southern High Plains. Warmer than normal conditions are also favored across Hawaii and the central and eastern sections of Alaska. Increased odds of below-normal temperatures are limited to the Northeast and New England.

Just for grins here’s a slideshow of early October US Drought Monitor maps for the past few years.