Nationwide
Rains, locally heavier, fell across roughly the east half of Texas this week, with heavier amounts (locally 4-7 inches) falling in parts of the central Gulf Coast region. Lighter precipitation amounts fell in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio River Valley. Snow, some of the lake effect, fell in parts of the Upper Great Lakes, and heavier lake effect snow fell downwind from Lakes Erie and Ontario.
Most of the Great Plains and West was dry this week, except for high elevation areas of western Montana and northern Idaho and in western parts of Oregon and Washington. Degradations in drought conditions occurred in southern California and southern Nevada, parts of high-elevation Wyoming, portions of the Mississippi River Valley, the Florida Peninsula and parts of Texas. Generally, drier weather in Hawaii has led to widespread degradations as well, mainly on the windward sides of the islands.
Improvements occurred in parts of east and deep south Texas, western Montana and central Washington, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeast Minnesota, and in Erie County, Pennsylvania and southwest and south-central New York.
The West
Dry weather primarily occurred in the West this week, except for western Washington, western Oregon, western Montana, and northern Idaho.
Most of the West finished this week either within 5 degrees of normal or 5-10 degrees warmer than normal. Central and eastern Montana saw widespread temperatures ranging from 10-15 degrees above normal. Widespread improvements to drought conditions occurred in western Montana and adjacent Idaho due to lessened short- and long-term precipitation deficits and increased soil moisture. In central Washington, minor adjustments (improvements and degradations) occurred in abnormal dryness and moderate drought areas where streamflow amounts and short- and long-term precipitation deficits changed. Short-term precipitation deficits continued to mount in southern and central Nevada and southern California, leading to the expansion of drought and abnormal dryness areas there.
The High Plains
Except for parts of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, weather across the High Plains region was mostly dry this week.
Temperatures were primarily warmer than normal, ranging from 3-12 degrees above normal in most areas (with locally warmer readings). Drought and abnormal dryness coverage remained primarily unchanged. Moderate drought coverage was reduced southwest of the Denver area as precipitation deficits lessened there.
Abnormal dryness was also removed from west-central Kansas after conditions were reassessed following wetter-than-normal weather over the last few months. Well-below-normal early-season snowpack and short- and long-term precipitation deficits led to an expansion of extreme drought in parts of the Wyoming, Wind River and Bighorn mountain ranges in Wyoming. Due to low well levels, Water usage is restricted to essential use only in the communities of Auburn and Peru in southeast Nebraska, where moderate drought is ongoing.
The South
Widespread rains fell across parts of the south this week, especially in eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and western Tennessee, while the rest of Texas, most of Arkansas, and Oklahoma remained mostly dry.
Western Texas was mostly 3-9 degrees warmer than normal, while Mississippi was mostly near normal or 3-6 degrees below normal. Temperature anomalies varied between these areas but were mostly within 3 degrees of normal. Due to lessened precipitation deficits and increased streamflow and soil moisture, drought areas were reduced in coverage in central Tennessee, parts of Mississippi, western Louisiana and parts of east Texas. Short-term precipitation and streamflow deficits continued to build in northeast Arkansas, leading to widespread expansion of abnormal dryness and moderate drought there. Conditions worsened in parts of southeast and south-central Texas, and soil moisture and streamflow deficits grew amid growing precipitation deficits. In far southern Texas, heavy rains led to local improvements near the mouth of the Rio Grande. In Bexar County, Texas, certain types of fireworks were temporarily banned from sale or usage due to ongoing drought conditions. At the same time, lake and reservoir levels dropped to 20% capacity in the Corpus Christi area. — UNL Drought Monitor
