Soggy Weather, Drought Relief Seen Nationwide Except West
The eastern two-thirds of the nation saw a soggy, stormy weather pattern last week, allowing for widespread improvements to the drought depiction. Unfortunately, the West was not as lucky.
West
A generally dry weather pattern prevailed across the West last week, leading to widespread degradation to abnormally dry and drought conditions. This was due to mounting precipitation deficits, worsening streamflows and declining soil moisture.
A large area of severe (D2) to extreme (D3) drought remains across southern California, southern Nevada, and large parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Some pockets of exceptional drought (D4) were noted in northwestern Arizona as well as southeastern Arizona into southwestern New Mexico.
There was an expansion of severe drought (D2) across southwestern Utah. To the east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, abnormal dryness (D0) was expanded to the south of Lake Tahoe. Moderate drought (D1) expanded to include more of southwestern Washington, while moderate drought (D1) was introduced to parts of northwestern and northeastern Oregon.
However, there were more favorable soil moisture indicators for parts of Montana, allowing for some improvements. Extreme (D3) was removed from western Montana, while abnormally dry to severe drought (D0-D2) conditions shrunk in coverage.
High Plains
Rainy, soggy weather occurred throughout most of the High Plains last week, fostering improvements to the drought depiction, especially in western and central Nebraska. Parts of southwestern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and eastern Colorado picked up rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches. Though, there were still a few areas that missed out on this beneficial moisture.
Extreme drought (D3) was reduced across both western and northeastern Nebraska. Severe drought (D2) decreased in coverage across southwestern South Dakota and most of Nebraska. Abnormally dry and moderate drought (D0-D1) improved across eastern Colorado into most of Kansas. Northern Kansas and far southern Nebraska did miss out on most of the rain, so there was a slight expansion of abnormally dry to moderate drought (D0-D1).
Midwest
A low-pressure system brought significant rain from Minnesota southeastward to Wisconsin early in the week. This resulted in a widespread swath of 1 to 2 inches of rain. Otherwise, the rest of the Midwest picked up much lower rainfall amounts.
Abnormally dry and moderate drought (D0-D1) decreased across most of Minnesota and southern Wisconsin. At the same time, increasing short-term precipitation deficits and declining soil moisture led to an expansion of abnormally dry and moderate drought (D0-D1) in northern Indiana, northern Illinois, most of Iowa and northern Missouri.
Michigan remains unchanged this week, while Ohio and Kentucky are still free of abnormally dry and drought conditions.
South
Periods of rain and thunderstorms impacted the Southern region last week, with the heaviest rain falling across western portions. Here, rainfall amounts of 2 inches or more fell. As a result, there were improvements to dryness and drought conditions.
Severe drought (D2) was removed from the Oklahoma Panhandle. Moderate to exceptional drought (D1-D4) shrunk in coverage in southern Texas, while abnormally dry and drought conditions remain unchanged in western Texas. However, exceptional drought (D4) remains in southwest Texas, extending from the Trans-Pecos to parts of the Hill Country. In contrast, northern and eastern Texas and most of Oklahoma is still free of abnormally dry and drought conditions.
Southeast
The Southeast continued to have a wet pattern last week, leading to generally widespread improvements. Florida’s rainy season appears to be underway as thunderstorms brought locally heavy rain and drought relief to east-central portions of the state. However, it was much drier across west-central Florida.
There was a reduction in abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) for parts of eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. However, low groundwater supports maintaining moderate drought (D1) for parts of northern Virginia. Moderate and severe drought (D1-D2) decreased in coverage for east-central Florida, while moderate to extreme drought (D1-3) increased in west-central Florida.
Northeast
Widespread rainfall occurred throughout the Northeast last week, allowing for improvements to the drought depiction. The heaviest rain soaked much of eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with amounts of 2 to 6 inches.
Abnormal dryness (D0) was virtually eliminated across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Rainfall amounts were lower across Cape Cod though, so abnormally dry (D0) conditions were maintained. Abnormal dryness was also removed from parts of western and southeastern New York, Long Island and northern New Jersey. Abnormal dryness to severe drought (D0-D2) decreased in coverage across southeastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and northern West Virginia. However, severe drought (D2) was maintained in Baltimore County, Md., due to the lack of a favorable response in groundwater.
Looking Ahead: May 27th through June 2nd
An unsettled weather forecast will continue for areas along and east of the Rockies through the first half of the week. Stalled fronts and passing weather disturbances will likely trigger showers and thunderstorms for most areas through the weekend. The West, however, remains locked into dry weather.
By the end of the forecast period though, things will shift allowing the East to dry out, while moisture finally moves into the Western U.S. While showers and thunderstorms will be possible, it likely will not be enough to stop increasing precipitation deficits.
The eastern two-thirds of the nation likely see a mix of improvements and degradations next week, while the West either remains the same or worsens.
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Source: U.S. Drought Monitor