031
FXUS25 KWNC 171230
PMDDRO
US DROUGHT MONITOR DISCUSSION
NWS CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
830 AM EST THU 17 MAY 2012
NATIONAL DROUGHT SUMMARY MAY 15, 2012 WEATHER SUMMARY: HIGHLY
BENEFICIAL RAINFALL BROUGHT ADDITIONAL DROUGHT RELIEF TO THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL UNITED STATES AND BEGAN TO CHIP AWAY AT SHORT-TERM
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEASTERN
STATES. PARTS OF THE SOUTHEAST ALSO EXPERIENCED DROUGHT RELIEF,
BUT LITTLE RAIN FELL IN A CORE DROUGHT AREA CENTERED ON CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN GEORGIA AND NORTHERN FLORIDA. IN THE MIDWEST,
A DRY WEEK FOLLOWED EARLY-MAY RAINFALL. DRY CONDITIONS ALSO
PREVAILED ACROSS MUCH OF THE WEST. THE EAST: MUCH-NEEDED
RAIN PUT A SIGNIFICANT DENT IN SHORT-TERM DRYNESS /D0/ AND
MODERATE TO SEVERE DROUGHT /D1 AND D2/ ACROSS THE MID-ATLANTIC
AND NORTHEASTERN STATES. IN FACT, RAIN ERADICATED NEARLY ALL OF
THE D2 IN THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN. FARTHER SOUTH,
RAIN PROVIDED DROUGHT RELIEF IN MANY AREAS, ESPECIALLY FROM
PARTS OF ALABAMA INTO NORTHERN GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS.
SOME OF THE MOST WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN AFFECTED NORTH CAROLINA,
WHERE TOTALS OF AT LEAST 4 TO 6 INCHES WERE COMMON ACROSS THE
CENTRAL ONE-THIRD OF THE STATE. MEANWHILE, ONLY LIGHT SHOWERS
DOTTED THE CORE AREA OF EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT /D3 TO
D4/ ACROSS THE LOWER SOUTHEAST. FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 15,
2012, AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, RECEIVED ONLY 22.44 INCHES OF RAIN.
THE PREVIOUS DRIEST SUCH PERIOD ON RECORD OCCURRED A YEAR AGO,
FROM MAY 16, 2010 MAY 15, 2011, WHEN 29.72 INCHES FELL.
AT TIMES, EARLY-SEASON HEAT HAS AGGRAVATED DROUGHT CONDITIONS
IN THE LOWER SOUTHEAST. FOR EXAMPLE, RECENT DAILY-RECORD HIGHS
IN FLORIDA INCLUDED 95F /ON MAY 11/ IN FT. MYERS AND 94F
/ON MAY 12/ IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON. THE MID-SOUTH: FLASH
DROUGHT CONDITIONS BEGAN TO DEVELOP IN AN AREA CENTERED
ON THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY AND THE NORTHERNMOST PORTION OF
THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA. THE TERM FLASH DROUGHT REFERS TO
ACUTE SHORT-TERM DRYNESS, OFTEN AGGRAVATED BY ABOVE-NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. A DECLINE IN CROP CONDITIONS HAS BEEN NOTED
ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH, WITH 10 PERCENT OF THE ARKANSAS RICE
CROP RATED IN VERY POOR TO POOR CONDITION BY MAY 13, ACCORDING
TO USDA. SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT WAS NOTED
ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY, WHERE SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ EXPANDED.
DROUGHT ALSO BEGAN TO CREEP NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
THE MIDWEST: MOSTLY DRY WEATHER RETURNED, FOLLOWING A
PERIOD OF BENEFICIAL RAINFALL IN LATE APRIL AND EARLY MAY.
THERE WERE ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO THE DEPICTION OF DRYNESS
/D0/ AND MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/. A CORE AREA OF DRYNESS AND
DROUGHT STILL EXISTED ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST, INCLUDING MOST
OF MINNESOTA AND NORTHERN IOWA. THE PLAINS: MUCH OF TEXAS,
EXCEPT NORTHERN AREAS, EXPERIENCED SUBSTANTIAL DROUGHT RELIEF.
WIDESPREAD 2- TO 4-INCH TOTALS WERE NOTED ACROSS SOUTHERN
AND WESTERN TEXAS, PRIMARILY FROM MAY 10-12, ALLOWING FOR A
BROAD IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT DEPICTION. IN THE VICINITY OF
HOUSTON, TEXAS, MAY 11-12 TOTALS INCLUDED 9.83 INCHES AT SUGAR
LAND AND 6.23 INCHES AT HOBBY AIRPORT. DESPITE SOME RAINFALL ON
THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS, WINTER WHEAT CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE,
WITH 39 PERCENT OF THE TEXAS CROP RATED IN VERY POOR TO POOR
CONDITION ON MAY 13. FARTHER NORTH, SOME MODEST EXPANSION
OF DRYNESS /D0/ WAS OBSERVED ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
PLAINS, AS A RELATIVELY WET APRIL WAS FOLLOWED BY A RATHER DRY
FIRST HALF OF MAY. THE WEST: PARTS OF SOUTHERN AND EASTERN
NEW MEXICO RECEIVED WIDESPREAD, LOCALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION,
BUT DRY WEATHER COVERED THE REMAINDER OF THE WEST. THE DROUGHT
IMPACT TYPE WAS CHANGED TO LONG TERM /L/ ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW
MEXICO, WHERE SUBSTANTIAL RAIN FELL. ELSEWHERE, RELATIVELY
MINOR CHANGES WERE HIGHLIGHTED BY A MODEST EXPANSION OF SEVERE
DROUGHT /D2/ IN NORTHWESTERN ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA, AND A
SLIGHT EXPANSION OF SEVERE DROUGHT IN NORTH-CENTRAL COLORADO.
HAWAII, ALASKA AND PUERTO RICO: CURRENTLY, THERE IS NEITHER
DRYNESS NOR DROUGHT DEPICTED IN ALASKA AND PUERTO. THE DROUGHT
SITUATION IN HAWAII REMAINED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED, EXCEPT FOR
THE EXPANSION OF SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/ ON THE SOUTHERN PORTION
OF THE BIG ISLAND DUE TO DETERIORATING PASTURE CONDITIONS, AND
THE REMOVAL OF SOME LINGERING DRYNESS /D0/ FROM EASTERN OAHU.
LOOKING AHEAD: DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS /MAY 17-21/, PERIODS OF
RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE DROUGHT RELIEF IN THE SOUTHERN
ATLANTIC STATES, PARTICULARLY ACROSS FLORIDAS PENINSULA.
IN FLORIDA, 5-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS COULD REACH 1 TO 3 INCHES,
WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. MEANWHILE, GENERALLY LIGHT TO
MODERATELY HEAVY SHOWERS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL PLAINS AND THE UPPER MIDWEST, ALTHOUGH MOST TOTALS
WILL BE LESS THAN AN INCH. ELSEWHERE, MOSTLY DRY WEATHER
CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH MAY 21 FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS, AND FROM THE MID-SOUTH INTO THE OHIO
VALLEY. THE NWS 6- TO 10-DAY OUTLOOK FOR MAY 22-26 CALLS
FOR NEAR- TO ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES NATIONWIDE, EXCEPT FOR
COOLER-THAN-NORMAL CONDITIONS IN FLORIDA AND THE NORTHWEST.
MEANWHILE, BELOW-NORMAL RAINFALL IN THE NORTHEAST AND FROM
CALIFORNIA TO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL CONTRAST
WITH WETTER-THAN-NORMAL WEATHER ALONG THE SOUTHERN ATLANTIC
COAST AND ACROSS THE NATIONS NORTHERN TIER FROM THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST TO MINNESOTA. AUTHOR: BRAD RIPPEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE
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.
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