NCDC: Climate of 2002 - May - Pacific Northwest Drought

NCDC / Clim. Monitoring / Climate-2002 / May / U.S. Regional Drought / Search / Help

Climate of 2002 - May
Drought in the Pacific Northwest

National Climatic Data Center, 17 June 2002

The southern parts of the Pacific Northwest (mainly Oregon and southern Idaho) were dry during May, giving the region a rank of 28th driest May (see table and graphic below).

By the end of May, the Idaho Department of Water Resources had issued drought emergency declaration orders for 7 counties during 2002.
According to media reports (The Idaho Statesman), hundreds of mostly domestic wells in eastern Idaho have dried up from the ongoing drought.

On balance, however, the 2001-2002 wet season ranked near the middle of the historical distribution for the region as a whole (see table below).

Precipitation Ranks for the
Northwest Region, 2001-2002
Period	Rank
May	28^th driest
Apr-May	54^th wettest ( 55^th driest)
Mar-May	51^st wettest ( 58^th driest)
Feb-May	35^th driest
Jan-May	41^st driest
Dec-May	54^th driest
Nov-May	43^rd wettest ( 65^th driest)
Oct-May	43^rd wettest ( 65^th driest)
Sep-May	48^th wettest ( 60^th driest)
Aug-May	52^nd wettest ( 56^th driest)
Jul-May	49^th wettest ( 57^th driest)
Jun-May	49^th wettest ( 59^th driest)

Click here for graphic showing Northwest region precipitation departures, January 1998 - present

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Click here for graphic showing Northwest region precipitation, May 1895-2002

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NCDC / Clim. Monitoring / Climate-2002 / May / U.S. Regional Drought / Search / Help

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2002/may/nw0205.html
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Last Updated Friday, 15-Jul-2005 09:15:07 EDT by Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
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