U.S. Drought Monitor Report for the Week Ending Feb. 14 (Text)
Following is the text of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor as released by the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska:
Northeast: Like last week, only a few tenths of an inch of precipitation, if any, fell on the region. As a result, D0 was expanded to include part of western New York, where some longer- term deficits were noted. Farther south, D0 was introduced in part of southeastern Massachusetts. Most of this region only received one-half to two-thirds of normal precipitation over the past 60 days.
South Atlantic and Central Gulf Coast Regions: During the last two weeks, 2 to locally over 5 inches of rain fell on small sections of north-central and southeastern parts of the Florida Peninsula, prompting improvements to D0 in southeastern sections and D1 farther north. Still, a number of locations in south Florida recorded less than half of normal rainfall since November 1, 2011, including the cities of Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. In addition, 1 or 2 inches fell on much of the Louisiana Bayou, although no improvement was introduced here, where substantial long-term deficits remain.
Several tenths of an inch fell on other parts of the Florida Peninsula and in southern sections of Alabama and Mississippi, where keeping dryness and drought essentially unchanged. Unfortunately, very little if any precipitation fell from the northern tier of Florida (including the Panhandle) northward through the eastern mid-Atlantic region. As a result, D4 was expanded southwestward into more of southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia, in addition to eastern parts of the Florida Peninsula. Much of this region received less than half of normal rainfall during the last 60 days, and 6-month deficits topped 12 inches in many areas. For the 1-year period through early February, Tallahassee, FL measured about 32 inches of rain, about 5 inches below the previous record for the period. In addition, Dothan, AL reported 33 inches, only about 2 inches lower than the previous record. Farther north, there was some expansion of D0 and D1 conditions in central sections of North Carolina.
The Southern Great Plains and Most of Louisiana: Moderate to heavy rains exceeding 1 inch fell on much of southeastern Texas as well as isolated locations in southernmost and central parts of the state. Despite the fact these rains brought 30-day totals to over 5 inches (and over 10 in isolated spots) in some east- central and southeastern areas, only modest regional improvement seemed warranted, since 6-month totals remained more than 8 inches below normal across most of the D2 to D4 areas. As a result, Lake Somerville remained at only 59% of capacity, the lowest since records began in 1990.
In contrast, one area in and around San Antonio was improved to D1 after moderate rainfall. The Bexar Index Well has risen 9 feet in the past month, and is over 20 feet above the low recorded last summer. In addition, the Edwards Aquifer rose to its highest level since late April 2011.
A number of locations in the rest of the southern Plains kept last week’s drought assessments intact.
The Northern Plains: Only a few tenths of an inch of precipitation last week meant drought conditions either persisted or intensified. D0 expanded westward through portions of southern and central South Dakota while D2 conditions were extended slightly into eastern parts of the state. Many of the D2 areas recorded less than half of normal precipitation during the last 60 days. Since August 1, Sioux Falls, SD received only 3.6 inches of precipitation, the third lowest for the period in roughly 100 years of records.
West: Moderate precipitation (over 1 inch) fell on parts of northwestern New Mexico, central and western Colorado, and adjacent Wyoming. Elsewhere, however, only a few areas outside California measured over 0.5 inch. The week’s precipitation, in addition to a re-assessment of overall conditions, prompted the elimination of D3 conditions in northeast Arizona, and reductions in the D0 to D2 areas here and in Northwestern New Mexico. Drought conditions remained unchanged in the rest of the West despite widespread precipitation amounts between 1 and 3 inches in the Sierra Nevada, where normal are quite large.
Hawaii: Between 1 and 3 inches of precipitation fell on some sections across the eastern Big Island, northeastern Maui, southern Lanai, and southeastern Kauai, with light to moderate totals observed elsewhere. Pasture and vegetation conditions have improved recently in portions of the southeastern Big Island.
Looking Ahead: During the next 5 days (February 16-20, 2012), moderate to heavy precipitation (1 to locally over 3 inches) is anticipated across a large area from southeastern Texas eastward through the Florida Panhandle and northeastward into southern North Carolina. Amounts over 0.5 inch are forecast for immediately adjacent sections including central Texas, the northern Florida Peninsula, and southern Virginia, but lesser amounts should fall on the other areas of dryness and drought across the contiguous 48 states.
For the ensuing 5 days, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 6-10 day indicated that the odds favor above normal precipitation in much the same area as during the next 5 days. Farther west, subnormal amounts are favored from southern Oregon and northeastern California southeastward through western Texas and southward to the Mexican border.
SOURCE: National Drought Mitigation Center
To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Sebany in Washington at msebany@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at atanzi@bloomberg.net
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