 Regional Overview
| November 2002 was wet across much of the southern and eastern portions of the country from southern Texas and Louisiana, throughout the Southeast, into portions of the Northeast. Beneficial rains fell in many of the drought areas, bringing short-term relief. However, long-term moisture deficits remained in parts of the east at the 24-month timescale. The month was dry in large parts of the Northwest and Central U.S. Severe to extreme long-term drought continued from the west coast to the central Plains. The November rainfall pattern was dry at the primary stations in Hawaii. In Puerto Rico, rainfall was below normal at many stations for November, the last 4 weeks, and the last 8 weeks. In Alaska, the precipitation pattern at the primary stations was mixed. These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators: - the Palmer Indices and Standardized Precipitation Index,
- the runoff, evaporation, and soil moisture conditions as calculated by the National Weather Service,
- maps showing the percent of normal precipitation for airport stations for the current month and year-to-date,
- the percent of average precipitation map for early December for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the USDA Water and Climate Center,
- the percent of average snow water content map for early December for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the USDA Water and Climate Center,
- the statewide precipitation ranks for current month (short-term) and 3-months, 6-months, year-to-date, and 12 months (longer-term),
- the short-term surface wetness anomaly maps for November computed by the National Climatic Data Center from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI), a polar orbiting satellite with global coverage, and
- the USGS November daily streamflow maps.
|
Western U.S. Drought | November 2002 marked the latest in a string of consecutive drier than normal months for the Northwest region. The regional dryness extends back through the normally dry summer season. For the West region, a series of Pacific fronts brought much needed rain and snow. This precipitation provided short-term relief from over 10 months of dryness which began in January, the middle of the last wet season. | | Thirteen of the past 15 months have been drier than normal in the Southwest region. Despite the rains of September and October, significant long-term moisture deficits remain. |
| Although November 2002 brought near normal precipitation to the west and southwest, persistent moisture deficits during the previous ten months resulted in January through November being among the top ten driest for Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. Although portions of the state received normal to above normal precipitation, long-term moisture deficits were so severe that record dryness was still noted in Colorado (February-November). A detailed review of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states: | 
larger image
larger image |
Central U.S. Drought | Below to much below normal precipitation in the central U.S. introduced new areas of severe to extreme short-term drought and expanded areas of moderate long-term drought. |
| A detailed discussion of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states: | 
larger image |
Eastern U.S. Drought | November marked the third consecutive wet month for the Northeast and Southeast regions. The regional precipitation pattern for the Northeast has alternated between wet and dry for much of the last year. For the Southeast, the rains of the last three months have been a welcome change from the persistent dryness earlier in the year. Most of the east coast drought areas have experienced considerable improvement; in only a few areas of the Carolinas do significant long-term moisture deficits remain. |
A detailed discussion of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states: | 
larger image |  Additional Contacts:
For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.info@noaa.gov
For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:Richard Heim
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
-or-Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov
 NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2002 / November / U.S. Drought / Regional / Search / Help
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2002/nov/drought-regional-overview.html
Downloaded Wednesday, 09-Jul-2008 03:51:41 EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Jul-2005 08:42:35 EDT by Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
Please see the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments.
|
