1. Central and Eastern United States:

WINTRY WEATHER CONTINUES

Heavy snow (up to 51 cm) continued to bury the Great Lakes snow belt and parts of upstate New York and northwestern New England. Further south, a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain , and fog plagued travelers across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic [Episodic Events]. Temperatures averaged 6°C to 10°C below normal across the northern Great Plains, upper Midwest, central Mississippi Valley, and Ohio Valley while departures of -3°C to -6°C prevailed across the southern and eastern fringes of the region. The mercury plummeted below -20°C as far south as St. Louis, MO (39°N), and subfreezing temperatures pushed all the way to the Gulf Coast [COLD - 2 to 3 weeks].

2. Northeastern United States:

MOISTURE DEFICITS REMAIN

Winter storms brought up to 140 mm of snow, sleet, and rain to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic while 20 to 60 mm fell on the central Appalachians. The remainder of the region received only 10 to 50 mm of precipitation. Despite the wintry weather, moisture shortages of 50 to 115 mm continued to dominate the Northeast and mid-Atlantic [DRY - 5 to 11 weeks].

3. Northern Venezuela and Southern Caribbean:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK

Little or no rain fell on northwestern Venezuela, and only 10 to 50 mm dampened the remainder of the region. Short-term (December 1 to January 9) precipitation surpluses of 100 to 385 mm prevailed across western Venezuela and the southeastern Caribbean, but were generally below 100 mm elsewhere [WET - Ending at 4 to 9 weeks].

4. Southeastern Europe and Turkey:

HEAVY RAINS DRENCH REGION

Storms brought moderate to locally torrential rain (25 to 200 mm) across southwestern Turkey and the islands of southern Greece. Since the first of December, the area has accumulated 60 to 245 mm more rainfall than normal [WET - 6 to 11 weeks].

5. The Middle East:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS

Rains of 10 to 25 mm fell across Israel and Lebanon, while scattered rains of up to 10 mm dampened the interior portions of the Middle East. Since the start of December, the region has received less than 100 mm of precipitation, which is 60 to 210 mm less than normal [DRY - 7 to 15 weeks].

6. The Middle East and Southwestern Asia:

CONTINUED WARM

Temperatures for the week again averaged well above normal (+3°C to +7°C) with temperatures reaching 26°C at both Hail, Saudi Arabia (27°N) and Doha, Qatar (25°N), and 23°C at Abadan, Iran (30°N) [WARM - 4 to 11 weeks].

7. Kenya and Tanzania:

STILL VERY DRY

Little or no rain was reported again last week, except for 10 to 20 mm in the northeastern and southwestern sections of Tanzania. Generally less than 100 mm of rain fell on the two countries since the beginning of December, resulting in moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm [DRY - 4 to 15 weeks].

8. Southeastern Africa:

HEAVY RAINS SOAK EASTERN ZIMBABWE AND SOUTHWESTERN MADAGASCAR

Heavy thunderstorms dumped 100 to 400 mm of rain on southwestern Madagascar while 80 to 150 mm soaked eastern Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, 50 to 100 mm of rain were observed in central Mozambique. During December and January, precipitation totaled 200 to 710 mm, which is 50 to 480 mm above normal [WET - 4 to 11 weeks].

9. Far Eastern Russia:

WARMTH DEVELOPS

Temperatures averaged up to +10°C above normal on the Kamchatka Peninsula, with higher departures (up to +15°C) in the interior portions of far eastern Siberia [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

10. Japan:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS

Rains of 10 mm or less were scattered across Kyushu, Shikoku, and southern Honshu as short-term moisture deficits have accumulated. Heavier amounts of up to 100 mm, however, soaked the central coast of Honshu on the Sea of Japan. Since the start of December, much of the region has received fewer than 115 mm of precipitation, which is 50 to 130 mm less than normal [DRY - 4 to 6 weeks].

11. China:

WARM ANOMALY PERSISTS

High temperatures (averaging 3°C to 5°C above normal) again covered central and south-central China during the past week. Temperatures reached 22°C at Simao, China (23°N) and 21°C at Guilin, China (25°N) [WARM - 3 to 12 weeks].

12. Indonesia and Northern Australia:

MORE WET WEATHER

Locally heavy rains (100 to 400 mm) drenched scattered locations of northeastern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and northeastern coastal Queensland while 30 to 100 mm fell on the remainder of northern Australia. Meanwhile, scattered heavy rains (100 to 300 mm) were observed across Indonesia, but most of the archipelago received less than 100 mm. Since the beginning of December, 90 to 685 mm of rain drenched northern Australia, resulting in moisture excesses of 50 to 520 mm [WET - 4 to 20 weeks].