809
FXUS25 KWNC 131330
PMDDRO
US DROUGHT MONITOR DISCUSSION
NWS CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
830 AM EST THU 13 MAR 2008
NATIONAL DROUGHT SUMMARY MARCH 11, 2008 THE SOUTHEASTERN
AND MID-ATLANTIC STATES:SEVERAL RAIN EVENTS BROUGHT WELCOMED
RELIEF TO THE REGION. SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN AND EVEN SNOW
IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS ALLOWED FOR WIDESPREAD IMPROVEMENT TO THE
DROUGHT STATUS THIS WEEK. THE HEAVIEST RAINS WERE RECORDED IN
A BAND FROM NORTHEAST GEORGIA INTO WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
BRYSON CITY, NC, RECORDED 3.92 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION,
BUCK FOREST 3.32 INCHES, BENT CREEK 3.18 INCHES, ENKA 3.45
INCHES, HENDERSONVILLE 4.22 INCHES, ROBINSVILLE 3.23 INCHES,
AND WAYNESVILLE 3.13 INCHES. THE PRECIPITATION ALLOWED FOR
A CATEGORICAL IMPROVEMENT OF ALL DROUGHT CATEGORIES IN NORTH
CAROLINA, AND WITH THE REMOVAL OF D4 FROM THE STATE, THIS
IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE AUGUST 2007 THAT THERE IS NO D4 IN
NORTH CAROLINA. IN GEORGIA, D3 WAS IMPROVED IN THE NORTHEAST
CORNER OF THE STATE AND D4 WAS IMPROVED IN THE NORTHWEST.
THE DROUGHT CATEGORIES IN CENTRAL GEORGIA WERE ALL SHIFTED
TO THE NORTH IN RESPONSE TO CONTINUING IMPROVEMENTS THERE.
NORTHERN PORTIONS OF FLORIDA CONTINUED TO SEE PRECIPITATION,
ALLOWING FOR THE REMOVAL OF D1 IN THE AREA AND A REDUCTION OF
D0 CONDITIONS AS WELL. IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA, CONDITIONS ALONG
THE KISSIMMEE RIVER WERE IMPROVED TO D0 FOLLOWING SEASONAL
CHANGES IN REGULATION LEVELS AND CONSISTENT RAINS OVER THE
LAST FEW WEEKS. TENNESSEE SAW THE REMOVAL OF D3 STATUS IN
THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. EVEN WITH THE IMPROVED
CONDITIONS IN EASTERN TENNESSEE, LONG-TERM HYDROLOGICAL PROBLEMS
STILL LINGER. IN KENTUCKY, D1 CONDITIONS WERE PUSHED SOUTH,
ALMOST COMPLETELY OUT OF THE STATE, WHILE SOME IMPROVEMENTS
WERE ALSO MADE TO THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF THE DROUGHT STATUS IN
VIRGINIA. IN MARYLAND, SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN PUSHED THE D0 AND
D1 CONDITIONS TO THE SOUTH, LEAVING MUCH OF NORTHERN MARYLAND
DROUGHT FREE. DALECARLIA RESERVOIR IN MARYLAND RECORDED 3.03
INCHES, STEVENSVILLE 2.17 INCHES, SMITHBURG 2.72 INCHES, AND
WILLIAMSPORT 2.92 INCHES OF RAIN. THE PLAINS: ANOTHER DRY
WEEK FOR THE REGION, EXCEPT FOR PORTIONS OF OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS.
WITH THE CONTINUING DRY WINTER, D1 CONDITIONS WERE EXPANDED TO
THE SOUTHEAST IN NEBRASKA AND NOW INCLUDE EXTREME NORTHEAST
COLORADO AS WELL AS THE SOUTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF NEBRASKA.
THIS AREA WAS LABELED AH IN RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEMS WITH
LOW FLOWS AS WELL AS IMPENDING DRYNESS FOR AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCERS IN BOTH THE REPUBLICAN AND PLATTER RIVER VALLEYS.
TEXAS CONTINUES TO HAVE A CLEAR DELINEATION LINE SHOWING WHERE
PRECIPITATION EVENTS HAVE AND HAVE NOT TAKEN PLACE. ROUGHLY,
AREAS WEST OF INTERSTATE 35 ARE WHERE DRYNESS CONTINUES.
D3 CONDITIONS IN SOUTH TEXAS WERE EXPANDED TO THE SOUTHWEST
THIS WEEK, WITH A SLIGHT EXPANSION OF D2 AS WELL. THE DROUGHT
STATUS GRADIENT WAS TIGHTENED AND SHIFTED TO THE WEST AS
SOME AREAS DID RECEIVE SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN IN SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS. CEDAR CREEK, TEXAS, RECORDED 2.54 INCHES
OF RAIN, SOMERVILLE DAM 2.59 INCHES, REFUGIO 2.30 INCHES,
COLETO CREEK RESERVOIR 2.21 INCHES, DANEVANG 3.05 INCHES,
EDNA 3.21 INCHES, VICTORIA 3.85 INCHES, AND WEST COLUMBIA
3.24 INCHES. THE WEST: A DRY WEEK IN THE WEST WITH COOL
TEMPERATURES ALLOWED FOR NO CHANGES THIS WEEK. THE COOL
TEMPERATURES WERE WELCOMED AS THEY ALLOW FOR MAINTAINING CURRENT
SNOWPACK LEVELS. HAWAII: D0 WAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ALL OF
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS WEEK. CONTINUED SHORT-TERM DRYNESS
PLAGUES THE ENTIRE ISLAND CHAIN. LOOKING AHEAD: DURING THE
NEXT 5 DAYS /THROUGH MARCH 17/, AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN IS
TAKING SHAPE FOR MOST OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH MODELS IN
DISAGREEMENT ON EXACT STORM TRACKS. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO BE
3 TO 6 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT BELOW NORMAL FOR MUCH OF THE COUNTRY
EXCEPT TEXAS AND THE GULF COAST, WHERE TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE
3 TO 6 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIPITATION LOOKS
TO BE SHIFTING TO THE NORTH A BIT, WITH STORM TRACKS THROUGH
THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MIDWEST. MAXIMA FOR PRECIPITATION
DURING THIS TIME ARE EXPECTED OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,
THROUGH NEBRASKA AND KANSAS AND INTO MISSOURI AND KENTUCKY.
THE NWS 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK FOR MARCH 18-22 SHOWS BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES OVER ALASKA, GREAT PLAINS, AND INTO THE GREAT
LAKES REGION. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURE SHOULD BE EXPECTED
OVER THE SOUTHEAST. BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION OVER ALASKA AND
THE HIGH PLAINS AS WELL AS SOUTHERN FLORIDA SHOULD NOT IMPROVE
DROUGHT STATUS IN THOSE REGIONS. ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION
OVER GREAT LAKES, NEW ENGLAND AND OHIO RIVER VALLEY SHOULD
BE OBSERVED. MODELS AT THIS TIME ARE NOT IN GOOD AGREEMENT
WITH DIFFERENCES IN SEVERAL LARGE SCALE FEATURES. AUTHOR:
BRIAN FUCHS, NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER
DROUGHT INTENSITY CATEGORIES...
D0 ABNORMALLY DRY...
D1 MODERATE DROUGHT...
D2 SEVERE DROUGHT...
D3 EXTREME DROUGHT...
D4 EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
DROUGHT TYPES...
USED ONLY WHEN IMPACTS DIFFER...
A AGRICULTURAL...
H HYDROLOGIC.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page