Climate of 2005 - November
U.S. Regional Drought Watch

Regional Overview

• Several states had the tenth driest, or drier, month in November and also for multi-month seasons (September-November, June-November, December-November and others). These states include:
  • Arkansas
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • Texas
• Record or near record dry conditions were reported at stations in Illinois (March-November) and Oklahoma (November).
• The Arklatex (southwestern Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas) experienced the driest March-November in the 111-year record.
• November was extremely dry for parts of Oklahoma, especially the central sections. Governor Brad Henry issued a statewide burning ban November 15, with several large wildfires burning in the state near the end of the month. Governor Henry subsequently asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to expand a previously issued disaster designation to include all 77 Oklahoma counties because of drought and wildfires (AP).
• The moisture deficits in southwestern Missouri have lowered small ponds and stock ponds to well below normal levels. Drought in Arkansas had brought lake levels so low that some towns were studying measures to ensure a stable water system supply (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette). In central North Carolina, the city of Raleigh implemented mandatory water conservation measures.
• End-of-month and month-averaged soil moisture conditions were drier than normal across a broad swath from the southern Plains and Southeast to the Ohio Valley, a band from the central Plains to the Great Lakes, and parts of the West, based on model computations (CPC-1, CPC-2, MRCC). The models also indicated dry soil moisture conditions in parts of Alaska and Hawaii, and near the surface and at depth from Iowa to the western Great Lakes.
• Streamflow levels were below seasonal norms across much of the southern Plains to Ohio Valley states, from the central Plains to the Lower Great Lakes, and parts of the Southeast and West, as computed by models and based on USGS observations.

These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators:

• Palmer Drought Indices,
• Standardized Precipitation Index,
• long-term (36 to 60 month) percent of normal precipitation maps,
• airport station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• statewide precipitation rank maps,
• Cooperative station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• 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,
• satellite-based observations of vegetative health,
• National Weather Service model calculations of
  • soil moisture,
  • runoff,
  • evaporation,
• National Weather Service model calculations of soil moisture using the Leaky Bucket Model,
• Midwest Regional Climate Center model calculations of soil moisture,
• streamflow maps maintained by the USGS.

A detailed review of drought and moisture conditions is available for all contiguous U.S. states and the nine climatological regions:

• Aggregated reservoir levels in the West (provided by the USDA) reflected the long-term precipitation deficits in many states. About 18 percent of the western U.S. (Rockies westward) fell in the moderate to extreme drought category (as defined by the Palmer Drought Index) as of the end of November, mainly reflecting continued dryness in the Pacific Northwest.

Additional Contacts:

• Weekly, Monthly, 3-Month, 12-Month Monitoring
• El Nino, Drought, Snow Cover, and Degree Day Monitoring
• Weekly Drought Monitoring
• Soil Moisture Monitoring

• 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