Heavy precipitation fell across parts of the southern and eastern U.S. and in parts of the West, especially in the Sierra Nevada, where a major blizzard significantly increased snowpack in that range. The Great Plains were mostly dry this week, as were parts of the Midwest, except for rain in parts of Illinois, southeast Wisconsin and Michigan.
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In much of the western U.S. west of the Continental Divide, temperatures were near or below normal. In most of the central and eastern U.S., temperatures were near or above normal, especially in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, where temperatures from 10 to 15 degrees warmer than normal were common. A few spots in the Great Lakes area were warmer than that, with readings 15-20 degrees above normal.
The West
This week, heavy precipitation fell across much of the central and northern Pacific Coast, and heavy snow also fell in a major storm in the Sierra Nevada.
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Significant amounts of snow also fell across parts of Idaho and northwest and southwest Montana. Improving snowpack in these areas and lessening precipitation deficits led to improvements in drought or abnormal dryness in numerous locations. Recent precipitation in western and central Oregon continued to chip away at long-term precipitation deficits, leading to the removal of one long-term moderate drought area and coverage reductions of another.
Meacher and Park counties in Montana have missed out on recent snowfall, leaving current snowpack numbers very low, and moderate drought worsened to severe drought. Heavy precipitation in northwest Washington (with some locations likely seeing over 9 inches of liquid precipitation) reduced moderate drought and abnormal dryness coverage. Along the Arizona-New Mexico border, severe drought coverage was locally reduced in a reassessment of short- and long-term drought conditions.
The High Plains
Mostly dry weather occurred in the Great Plains portion of the High Plains region this week.
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Temperatures in the region ranged from 5-10 degrees warmer than normal for far eastern Wyoming and Colorado and most of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota to near or below normal temperatures in North Dakota, western Colorado and western Wyoming.
Some of the mountainous parts of the region received significant snowfall, especially in west-central and northwest Wyoming and in the Medicine Bow Mountains in northern Colorado and south-central Wyoming. Improving snowpack levels led to reductions in coverage of moderate and severe drought and abnormal dryness in these areas.
However, improvements were more limited in southern Wyoming, where grass fires were reported west of Cheyenne recently and only light snow amounts were reported in the high plains west of Laramie. Given short-term dryness and high recent evaporative demand, abnormal dryness and moderate drought were expanded in northwest South Dakota, southwest North Dakota, and adjacent southeast Montana.
The South
Moderate to heavy rain amounts fell across portions of Louisiana and Mississippi this week. Elsewhere, mostly dry weather occurred in the region, aside from isolated heavy rain from a thunderstorm in north-central Arkansas.
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Temperatures across the region were mostly either near normal or 5-10 degrees above normal, with a few spots in Texas coming in 5-10 degrees below normal. Recent rainfall continued to alleviate precipitation deficits in eastern Louisiana and Mississippi, leading to some improvements in areas of moderate drought and abnormal dryness. In southwest Louisiana, short-term dryness and warmth and lowering streamflow levels led to a small expansion of moderate drought conditions.
Abnormal dryness spread across parts of northern and western Arkansas, and a few isolated spots in Texas and Oklahoma, given short-term precipitation deficits, warm and windy weather, and low soil moisture. — UNL Drought Monitor
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