Nationwide
Over the last week, weather systems tracked over the southern Plains and into the Midwest, bringing much-needed precipitation.
Some areas of Arkansas and Missouri reported over 10 inches of rain for the week. The active pattern also continued over the Pacific Northwest, with the coastal areas and inland recording 2-4 inches of rain that helped to alleviate dryness. Temperatures over the West were below-normal for the week, by as much as 6-9 degrees in parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The rest of the country had warmer-than-normal temperatures, especially in Texas and into Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, where they were 9-12 degrees above normal. Many areas that received rain during the period had these rains come on the cusp of record-setting dryness in October. However, many records were still set for areas that didn’t receive rain at the end of October and early November.
The West
Precipitation was scattered over much of the West, with the most significant rain over the Pacific Northwest, where 200% of normal rain was recorded for the week in much of Oregon and Washington.
Cooler-than-normal temperatures dominated the region, with many areas of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona and into western Wyoming, which was 6-9 degrees below normal for the week. Dryness continued to dominate much of Montana with abnormally dry conditions expanding to fill the rest of the state and moderate and severe drought expanding in the west. Abnormally dry conditions spread to the rest of central Utah, while moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions improved over much of western Oregon and Washington. Some improvements were made over eastern New Mexico this week due to the continued wetter conditions.
The High Plains
Significant rains fell over much of Kansas, into southeast Nebraska and southeast Colorado. Rain and snow fell from portions of eastern Colorado into Wyoming and the Dakotas, reversing the trend of very dry conditions.
Not all areas were as fortunate, with northeast Colorado, western Nebraska, eastern and southwest South Dakota and northwest North Dakota remaining dry this week. The region was split, with temperatures in western areas 3-6 degrees below normal and 9-12 degrees above normal in much of eastern Nebraska and eastern Kansas. Much of eastern Kansas saw a full category of improvement this week, with extreme drought being removed from the southeast. Severe drought was removed from far southeast Nebraska.
In western North Dakota and eastern Montana, severe and extreme drought expanded slightly. Some improvements were made to abnormally dry conditions over central to southern Colorado and to moderate drought over northeast Colorado. Moderate drought expanded across central South Dakota this week.
The South
Temperatures were 12-15 degrees above normal over much of the South, with areas of the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma 6-9 degrees above normal.
Much of Oklahoma, north Texas and Arkansas received significant precipitation, with widespread reports of 800% of normal rain for the week. The dryness continued over much of Tennessee and into northern Mississippi as the active rain patterns brought some rains, but not the significant and widespread rains that were more common in the West. A full category improvement was made over much of Oklahoma, northern Texas and western Arkansas, with extreme drought removed from the region. Extreme drought emerged in southeast Mississippi. Severe drought improved in Louisiana, with moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions also improving in southern Louisiana. — UNL Drought Monitor
