 NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2005 / Oct / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help
Climate of 2005 - October
U.S. Regional Drought Watch
National Climatic Data Center, 8 November 2005
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Regional Drought Overview /
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 Regional Overview
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October 2005 was much drier than normal across a broad swath of the country from the Great Lakes to the Deep South, with 12 percent of the contiguous U.S. very dry (in the bottom 10th percentile of the historical record). Parts of the West were also drier than normal. Record wet October precipitation ended the dryness in the Northeast.
The October precipitation pattern at the primary stations in Alaska was drier than average in the southeast (north of the panhandle), and mixed elsewhere. Across Hawaii, the precipitation pattern was mixed, with more stations drier than average than wetter. In Puerto Rico, the precipitation signal was also mixed, based on National Weather Service radar estimates of precipitation. October streamflow averaged wetter than normal for Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands.
The October dryness aggravated long-term drought in the southern Plains to Lower Great Lakes (2 to 6 to 9 months). Long-term moisture deficits (last 24 to 36 to 60 months) persisted across parts of the West into the northern High Plains and central Plains.
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Some regional highlights:
- Several states had the tenth driest, or drier, month in October and also for multi-month seasons (May-October and others). These states include:
- Several stations in the Great Lakes and Deep South had record or near record dry conditions.
- During October, several counties in northeast Texas were declared disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dropping well levels and below normal rainfall prompted the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District's board to declare a stage one drought alert for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer in Texas. The Buda and San Leanna monitor wells fell below their stage one trigger levels with ground water levels in other area wells also declining.
- By the end of the month, 60% or more of the pasture and range land was in poor to very poor condition in Arizona (60%), Arkansas (63%), Louisiana (76%), California (84%), and Mississippi (85%). Relative to "normal", pastures and range land were anomalously dry across much of the South to Great Lakes, and parts of the West.
- 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 central Plains and Great Lakes, and parts of the interior mid-Atlantic states, Pacific Northwest, and Rockies, based on model computations (CPC-1, CPC-2, MRCC). The models also indicated dry soil moisture conditions in parts of Alaska, and near the surface and at depth from Iowa to the western Great Lakes.
- According to end-of-October USDA observations, more than 50 percent of the topsoil moisture was rated short to very short (dry to very dry) across the Deep South to the southern Rockies, and parts of the Ohio Valley to Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest states. This is drier than the 5-year and 10-year averages across much of the area.
- Streamflow levels were below seasonal norms across much of the Deep South to Great Lakes states, and parts of the Pacific Northwest, central Plains, and northern Rockies, as computed by models and based on USGS observations.
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- 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
- satellite-based observations of vegetative health,
- National Weather Service model calculations of
- National Weather Service model calculations of soil moisture using the Leaky Bucket Model,
- Midwest Regional Climate Center model calculations of soil moisture,
- topsoil moisture conditions observed by the USDA and mapped by the Climate Prediction Center,
- pasture and range land conditions observed by the USDA and mapped by the Climate Prediction Center,
- 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:
REGIONS:
STATES:
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Additional Contacts:
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- 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
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NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2005 / Oct / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help
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