NCDC: U.S. Regional Drought Watch

NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2004 / Mar / U.S. Drought / Regional / Search / Help

Climate of 2004 - March
U.S. Regional Drought Watch

National Climatic Data Center, 15 April 2004

Global Analysis / Global Hazards / United States / U.S. Drought / National Drought Overview / Extremes
Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data.

Regional Drought Overview / Additional Contacts / Questions

Regional Overview

March was drier than normal across much of the U.S. The dryness was especially pronounced in the Southeast, where several states had a record or near-record dry month. Unusually warm temperatures worked in combination with the dry weather to intensify short-term drought conditions across most of the West and central High Plains. Much of Alaska was drier than normal, while the rainfall pattern in Hawaii was mixed. The primary stations in Puerto Rico were generally wetter than normal.

Click here for map showing Palmer Z Index

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March marked the third consecutive dry month for the Northeast, bringing record or near-record dry January-March conditions to several states. Five of the last six months have averaged near to much drier than normal for the Southeast. This recent dryness, combined with the prolonged dryness that occurred from 1998-2002, has resulted in the reappearance in the Southeast of patchy drought based on the Palmer Drought Index.

This month's short-term dryness compounded the long-term moisture deficits (last 9 to 24 to 36 to 60 months) in many areas.

Click here for map showing Current Month Palmer Hydrological Drought Index

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Some regional highlights:

Driest March in the 1895-2004 record for Georgia and South Carolina
Driest February-March and January-March in the 1895-2004 record for Maine
At the beginning of March, a significant part of the West had above-normal snowpack. However, the unusually dry and much warmer-than-normal weather of March 2004 melted and evaporated much of the snow. This left most areas with below-normal snowpack by the end of the month and caused record snowpack decreases at many locations (USDA/NRCS). The excessive warmth resulted in much above normal evaporation which contributed to sublimation (3/23 U.S. Drought Monitor discussion) of some of the snowpack. The effects of the short- and long-term drought include:
- soil moisture conditions remained dry in many areas
- reservoirs in most of the western states were still low or depleted
- average streamflow remained below normal levels in many areas
- The percent area of the western U.S. (Rockies westward) experiencing moderate to extreme drought (as defined by the Palmer Drought Index) increased during March to about 59%. While this is not near record historical levels, it is still comparable to the major droughts of the 20th Century.
According to USDA reports, 30% or more of the topsoil was rated dry or very dry (short or very short) in many western, Great Plains, and Southeast states
As reported by the media (AP, 4/10), western water supplies were dwindling and the threat of wildfires was already on the rise. National Interagency Fire Center reports indicated several large wildfires had broken out in the Southeast and southern Plains by the end of March and in the West by the beginning of April.

Click here for map showing Percent of Normal Snowfall

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These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators:

Palmer Drought Indices,
Standardized Precipitation Index,
airport station percent of normal precipitation maps,
statewide precipitation rank maps,
Cooperative station percent of normal precipitation maps,
precipitation maps incorporating the effect of topography,
satellite-based observations of surface moisture,
National Weather Service model calculations of
Midwest Regional Climate Center model calculations of soil moisture,
percent of average maps for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the Western Regional Climate Center
- hydrologic year precipitation,
- snow water equivalent of snowpack,
snow course snowpack observations in the western mountains provided by the USDA NRCS
streamflow maps maintained by the USGS.

A detailed review of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states:

Click here for map showing the nine U.S. standard regions

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Click here for graph showing Western U.S. Percent Area in Severe to Extreme Drought

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Click here for map showing Percent of Normal Precipitation

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Additional Contacts:

Damage due to the drought has been summarized by NOAA and the Office of Global Programs in the Climatological Impacts section of the Climate Information Project. Crop impact information can be found at the USDA NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) and Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin pages. Drought statements by local National Weather Service Offices can be found at the NWS Hydrologic Information Center. Drought threat assessments and other information can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center. Additional drought information can be found at the National Drought Mitigation Center, the USDA's National Agricultural Library, the interim National Drought Council, and the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program. The following states have set up web pages detailing current drought conditions and/or their plans to handle drought emergencies:

Colorado - Delaware - Delaware River Basin (DE-NJ-NY-PA) - Florida Panhandle - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho - Kentucky - Maine - Maryland - Missouri-1 - Missouri-2 - Montana-1 - Montana-2 - Nebraska - New Jersey-1 - New Jersey-2 - New Jersey-3 - New Mexico - North Carolina - Oklahoma-1 - Oklahoma-2 - Oklahoma-3 - Oregon - Pennsylvania-1 - Pennsylvania-2 - Pennsylvania-3 - South Carolina - Texas - Vermont - Virginia - Washington - Wyoming

For additional information on current and past wildfire seasons please see the National Interagency Fire Center web site or the U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation web site.

NCDC's Drought Recovery Page shows the precipitation required to end or ameliorate droughts and the probability of receiving the required precipitation.

Additional climate monitoring graphics can be found at the Climate Prediction Center's monitoring pages:

Precipitation and modeled soil moisture anomaly maps for the Midwest U.S. can be found at the Midwest Regional Climate Center's monitoring page.

Drought conditions on the Canadian prairies can be found at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Drought Watch page.

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-2004 / Mar / U.S. Drought / Regional / Search / Help

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2004/mar/drought-regional-overview.html
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Last Updated Tuesday, 29-Nov-2005 14:05:01 EST by Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
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