 NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2006 / Mar / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help
Climate of 2006 - March
U.S. Regional Drought Watch
National Climatic Data Center, 10 April 2006
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 Regional Overview
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Dryness affected many of the same areas this month that have experienced dry conditions during the last several months (February, January, December, November). March was much drier than normal along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. About 14 percent of the contiguous U.S. was very dry (i.e., precipitation in the bottom 10th percentile of the historical record).
Above-normal precipitation continued to bring improvement to parts of the Rockies and central and southern Plains. During the month, beneficial rains brought relief to the drought area in northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma and western Arkansas, and rain and snow brought relief to Nebraska and eastern Wyoming, but it was not enough to compensate for the significant deficits of the last 12 months.
The March precipitation pattern at the primary stations in Alaska was dry in the interior and along the southeast panhandle. Across Hawaii, the precipitation pattern was wet most everywhere. In Puerto Rico, the month was predominantly wet, based on National Weather Service radar estimates of precipitation. March streamflow averaged near normal for Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands.
Dryness intensified and spread along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. For the last three months drought had been concentrated in the middle Atlantic states and in southern Louisiana, but the areas of dryness were spreading. Long-term moisture deficits persisted across most of the Mississippi Valley, central and eastern Texas, and the Southwest. Another area of long-term deficits was in the central Appalachians.
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Some regional highlights:
- Several states had the tenth driest, or drier, March and also for multi-month seasons (January-March, October-March, April-March and others).
- Record-setting dry conditions were reported at several stations from Virginia through New York and in Florida.
- Numerous wildfires during the month burned across several states in the central and southern Plains, southern Appalachians, and adjoining parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys. The fires were especially widespread during the early part of March.
- End-of-month and month-averaged soil moisture conditions, based on model computations (CPC-1, CPC-2, MRCC), were drier than normal across a broad swath from the southern and central Plains to the Atlantic coast. A separate area of dry soil moisture conditions extended into the southwestern U.S. The models also indicated dry soil moisture conditions in parts of Alaska, and near the surface and at depth across parts of the Midwest.
- Streamflow levels reflected the March precipitation pattern. March streamflows were below seasonal norms across much of the East, and parts of the central Plains and the Southwest, as computed by models and based on USGS observations.
- Drought conditions in the Southwest continued during March. About 21 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 March. Aggregated reservoir levels in the West (provided by the USDA) reflected the long-term precipitation deficits in most states.
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- These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators:
- A detailed review of drought and moisture conditions is available for all contiguous U.S. states and the nine climatological regions:
REGIONS:
STATES:
* State page has supplemental information.
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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-2006 / Mar / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help
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