National Climatic Data Center, 14 November 2003

U.S. Drought Highlights:

• On the national scale, severe to extreme drought affected about 27 percent of the contiguous United States as of the end of October 2003
  • moderate to extreme drought affected about 42 percent of the contiguous U.S.
• Short-term conditions were dry across much of the West, Great Plains, and Upper Midwest to Great Lakes, and parts of the Southeast
• In some areas, the October dryness was a continuation of dry conditions from September and August
• Long-term moisture deficits (last 12 to 24 months) persisted across parts of the Great Lakes to central and northern Plains, and most of the West

Contents Of This Report:

• National Overview
• Regional Drought Watch
• Palmer Drought Indices*
• Standardized Precipitation Index*
• Regional Precipitation Ranks*
• Weekly Drought Monitoring Tools*
• State/Regional Moisture Status*

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