Nationwide
With limited precipitation during the week, most of the country was dry after a fairly active week.
The week was highlighted by the wild temperature swings from the first part of the period to the end. The current period started with temperatures well below normal over much of the country and ended with temperatures well above normal. Valentine, Nebraska, had an observed low temperature of -33°F on Feb. 20, and this rebounded to 69°F on Feb. 25, a swing of 102 degrees over that five-day span. Precipitation was greatest over the Pacific Northwest’s coastal areas, along the Gulf Coast, and in Florida. In southern Louisiana, 4-6 inches of rain was common for the region. Even with cold temperatures over much of the country’s eastern half, the West was normal to slightly above normal for the week.
The West
A very divided region with wetter-than-normal conditions in the north and zero precipitation in the south.
The most abundant precipitation was along the coastal areas of Washington and Oregon and into Idaho and western Montana. Unlike the rest of the country, much of the West had near- to slightly-above-normal temperatures this week. The wetter pattern in Oregon allowed for abnormally dry conditions to improve in the west, and both moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions improved in the northeast. No changes in Washington occurred this week as the most recent rains helped to stabilize conditions that had been deteriorating. In Idaho, abnormally dry conditions were improved over much of the western and southern portions of the state. Abnormally dry conditions were improved over northern portions of Nevada.
In Wyoming, abnormally dry conditions improved over the southwest part of the state while moderate, severe, and extreme drought conditions improved over the northern and western parts of the state. Montana had improvements to moderate, severe, and extreme drought over eastern portions of the state in response to the improving indicators. In Colorado, some abnormally dry conditions improved in the northcentral areas while they were expanded in the south. Moderate and severe drought expanded in the south, along with a new pocket of extreme drought due to the long-term drought indicators and the poor snow season to date. In New Mexico, moderate drought expanded over the west, and abnormally dry conditions expanded in the east.
The High Plains
Light precipitation was measured from eastern Wyoming into Kansas and Nebraska as well as in portions of western North Dakota and the plains of eastern Montana.
Most other areas were dry for the week. Colder-than-normal temperatures dominated the region, with areas of southeast Kansas 20-25 degrees below normal for the week. With the dry conditions, moderate drought levels were expanded over southern Kansas along with additional abnormally dry conditions being shown.
The South
It was a colder-than-normal week over the region, with temperatures in the 10-20 degrees below normal range over the entire area.
The greatest rain occurred across the coastal areas of east Texas, Louisiana and portions of northeast Oklahoma. The region has been dry over much of the winter after a few very wet weeks in the autumn. The short-term data are picking up the dryness that was also prevalent prior to the wet November. As the dryness persisted, moderate drought expanded into more of southwest Oklahoma and northern and central Texas. Abnormally dry conditions were expanded over much of southern Oklahoma and north Texas.
Due to ongoing hydrological drought issues in south Texas, drought expanded this week with more moderate, severe and extreme drought conditions. Abnormally dry conditions were improved over east Texas but were not removed completely due to some lingering dryness observed at longer timescales. The recent rains allowed for the removal of the abnormally dry conditions over southern Louisiana and some improvements in southern Mississippi, where both moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions were improved. — UNL Drought Monitor
