1. North America:
BITTERLY COLD CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Temperatures were 6°C to 16°C below normal across the interior
of western and central Canada and the northern Rockies and Great Plains
of the United States while readings averaged 2°C to 6°C below normal
elsewhere. Arctic air, characterized by lows of -20°C to -42°C
dominated Canada and the northern Plains as far south as western South
Dakota. Temperatures failed to reach the freezing mark across the southern
Prairie Provinces, the central and eastern sections of Montana, and the
western Dakotas [COLD - Up to 4 weeks]. On the extreme northwestern edge
of the cold anomaly, record-breaking heavy snows (60 to 77 cm) paralyzed
Anchorage, AK, according to press reports [Episodic Event].
2. Eastern United States:
MOISTURE DEFICITS REMAIN
Moderate precipitation (25 to 100 mm), falling primarily as rain, provided
some relief from short-term dryness. Between 100 and 300 mm of precipitation
has fallen during the last 13 weeks, allowing moisture deficits of 50 to
150 mm to accumulate. Please see the United
States Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Ending at 14 weeks].
3. Kentucky and Tennessee:
HEAVY RAINS CAUSE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING
Between 50 and 200 mm of rain drenched Kentucky and Tennessee. The heavy
rains triggered significant flooding in parts of the two states, according
to press reports [Episodic Event].
4. Central South America:
WARM ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal last week, with highs
generally ranging from 25°C in the southern portions of the region
to 39°C further north in Brazil and Paraguay [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].
5. East-Central South America:
MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE
Moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) dominated east-central and northeastern Argentina,
Uruguay, and southern Brazil, with torrential rains (100 to 500 mm) inundating
extreme northern and southern sections of Uruguay and extreme southern
Paraguay. Rainfall totaled 300 to 700 mm during the last 56 days, yielding
short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 570 mm. The media reported
flooding at some locations, particularly in Brazil [WET - Up to 8 weeks].
6. Central Europe:
HEAVY PRECIPITATION LIMITED TO THE ALPS
Moderate to heavy precipitation (50 to 200 mm) inundated the Alps, but
weekly totals (10 to 50 mm) diminished rapidly with increasing distance
from the mountains. During the last 8 weeks, total accumulations ranged
from 100 to 700 mm, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 300
mm [WET - Up to 11 weeks].
7. Northwestern Africa:
MOISTURE SHORTAGES REMAIN
Only Tunisia received 10 to 100 mm of rain, otherwise fewer than 10 mm
fell on the region. Precipitation totals for the last 13 weeks ranged from
20 to 200 mm, allowing moisture shortages of 50 to 230 mm to accumulate.
Please see the African
Assessment for more details [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].
8. Southeastern Africa:
ABNORMAL DRYNESS PERSISTS
Fewer than 25 mm of rain was observed across eastern South Africa, southern
Mozambique, and the central and southern portions of Zimbabwe while 25
to 100 mm of rain brought relief to central Mozambique and northern Zimbabwe.
Precipitation during the last 13 weeks totaled 50 to 350 mm, resulting
in 91-day shortfalls of 50 to 300 mm [DRY - Up to 11 weeks].
9. Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia:
WARM ANOMALY PERSISTS
Temperatures averaged 6°C to 12°C above normal in Kazakhstan and
southwestern Russia while weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C dominated
eastern Europe and most of European Russia. Temperatures in excess of 20°C
were limited to southern Asia, but the mercury climbed above the freezing
mark across the entire region. Low temperatures remained above -10°C
across the region except for extreme northeastern Kazakhstan and adjacent
parts of Siberia while readings remained above freezing across Asia south
of 40°N [WARM - Up to 9 weeks].
10. Eastern Asia:
STILL UNSEASONABLY MILD
Weekly departures of +6°C to +12°C covered parts of north-central
and eastern Siberia while readings were 2°C to 6°C above normal
across southeastern Siberia, eastern China, and most of Japan and Korea.
The mercury climbed above 20°C as far north as northern North Korea
and 40°N in China while above-freezing temperatures pushed as far north
as Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. Readings remained above freezing across
much of central and southeastern China, southern South Korea, and the southern
half of Japan [WARM - Up to 9 weeks].
11. Southeastern China:
DRY WEATHER RETURNS
Scanty precipitation (less than 10 mm) accumulated across Guangdong and
Fujian during the past week, but totals of 10 to 50 mm were reported in
north-central Guangdong, extreme northern Fujian, and extreme southern
Jiangxi. Since late January, the region received 50 to 200 mm of precipitation,
yielding short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].
12. Central Queensland:
UNUSUALLY DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOP
For the third consecutive week, little or no rain has fallen on the interior
portions of Queensland. Most areas received fewer than 10 mm of rain during
the last 4 weeks, with 28-day totals among the lowest 10% of the climatological
distribution [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].