Nationwide
Heavy precipitation again doused the Pacific Northwest, especially across the northern half of the Cascades and along the Washington and northern Oregon Coast.
Between 6 and 10 inches of precipitation fell on most of northwestern Washington, and 6-8 inches fell on most of the northern Washington Cascades and a few areas near the Washington/Oregon border and along the northwestern Oregon Coast. From central Oregon northward, over 3 inches fell in the Cascades and coastal areas, while 1.5 to 3.0 inches fell on other locations from the Cascade Foothills to the Pacific Ocean. Farther east, locally heavy precipitation (1 to locally approaching 4 inches) was observed in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho.
Other locations from the Great Plains westward to the Pacific Ocean were much drier, with most locations recording no measurable precipitation. Across the eastern half of the country, moderate to heavy precipitation (1 to locally 4 inches) fell on most of the Northeast, with the heaviest amounts in northern New York and a swath from southwestern New England and the New York City area northward through northeastern New York and adjacent Vermont. Areas around the Outer Banks of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia also recorded heavy precipitation (2 to 4 inches), while amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches in most of central and eastern Maine, New Jersey, central and eastern Pennsylvania, parts of the Mid-Atlantic region, and across Kentucky, most of Tennessee, and the adjacent Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. The west side of the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley recorded generally 0.5 to locally 2.0 inches of precipitation, similar to totals reported across the upper Southeast, the central Carolinas, the central Appalachians, and the Upper Ohio Valley.
These conditions led to broad areas of improvement across the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic region, most of the Carolinas, the central and southern Appalachians, the Ohio Valley, portions of the Middle Mississippi Valley and adjacent Lower Mississippi Valley, a few parts of the central and northern Rockies and southern California, and portions of the Pacific Northwest, where the heavy precipitation did not improve moisture shortages as much as might be expected due to quickly-increasing normal at this time of year.
Meanwhile, after the prior week’s beneficial precipitation, low precipitation totals this past week allowed for broad areas of intensification or re-intensification of dryness and drought over most of Texas, southern Oklahoma, the northern Great Lakes, parts of the northern Great Plains, portions of the central High Plains and north-central Montana. A few areas of deterioration were also introduced from southern South Carolina through southern Florida and through parts of the Virginia Piedmont.
In contrast, little or no precipitation was also observed across most of the Lower Mississippi Valley, near the central and eastern Gulf Coast, over the South Atlantic region from South Carolina through southern Florida, and through the Great Lakes region and adjacent portions of the Midwest.
The West
Several inches of precipitation pelted central and northern sections of the Cascades and coastal Pacific Northwest, and 1-3 inch totals were common across northwestern Montana and northern Idaho, as well as the lower elevations in the Pacific Northwest between the coast and the Cascades.
Several tenths of an inch of precipitation were reported farther south along the West Coast and in the lower elevations of the northern Intermountain West. Still, most of the West Region received no measurable precipitation for the week. This prompted intensification in north-central Montana and southeastern New Mexico, while heavy precipitation led to improvements in the Pacific Northwest. But given how early it is in the wet season and that normals are ramping upward fairly quickly there, improvement in dryness and drought was not as widespread as one might assume.
Drought coverage (D1+) in Washington was unchanged from the prior week at 94.8%, and the extent of the more intense drought classifications (D2-D4) declined only slightly from 65.1% to 63.9%. There was even less change in Oregon, although dryness there is not as widespread as in Washington. Montana reported intensification in north-central parts of the state, but a slight improvement farther west, as was the case in the fringes of the D3 and D4 areas in Idaho.
The High Plains
The High Plains region is currently the area least affected by dryness and drought, even though coverage increased slightly this past week, with most of the region reporting only a few tenths of an inch of precipitation at best. Measurable totals were restricted to eastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska.
The dry week induced a few areas of deterioration, but even so, less than 39% of the Region is experiencing some degree of dryness (D0+), and only 17.8% is enduring drought (D1+). Precipitation deficits on most time frames crept upward Region-wide, but areas of deterioration were relatively limited given the relatively low natural and human water demand this time of year.
The South
Moderate to heavy rain (1-3 inches) doused Tennessee, portions of Arkansas, and some adjacent areas last week. Dryness and drought over western Tennessee and much of Arkansas eased a bit.
Most other locations across Tennessee, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and northern Mississippi reported several tenths of an inch of rain, and similar totals fell on isolated areas across southern Mississippi, Louisiana, and coastal Texas. The remainder of the Region, including most of Texas and Oklahoma, observed no measurable rain. After beneficial precipitation the prior week, the precipitation-free week allowed dryness and drought to re-intensify or expand over large parts of Texas and southern Oklahoma. After drought coverage (D1+) declined to about one-third of the state the prior week, it increased to over 45% this past week, the greatest extent since early May. Areas of late-season crop stress and some die-off have been reported across Oklahoma and Texas over the past few weeks. — UNL Drought Monitor
