Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Western United States and Southwestern Canada:

HEAVY PRECIPITATION CONTINUES Up to 150 mm of precipitation fell on exposed coastal areas of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia while 20 to 60 mm dampened the remainder of the region west of the Cascades. To the east, generally less than 10 mm were reported. Since the beginning of February, 250 to 600 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region, yielding moisture surpluses of up to 330 mm. A few locations received 600 mm or more during February and the first 13 days of March, including 600 mm at Astoria, OR, 865 mm at Quillayute, WA, and 955 mm at Estevan Point, BC, resulting in excesses of 330 mm, 415 mm, and 530 mm, respectively [WET - 5 to 13 weeks].

2. Southern Texas and Northwestern Mexico:

WARM ANOMALY DEVELOPS Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6° above normal as the mercury soared above 34°C as far north as Alice, TX (28°N) [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

3. Southeastern United States:

DRYNESS SHIFTS EASTWARD Moderate to heavy precipitation (up to 250 mm) eliminated the dryness throughout Texas and along the western and central Gulf Coast, but little or no rain fell on central and eastern South Carolina, eastern Georgia, and most of Florida. Many locations have received less than 100 mm of precipitation since February 1, resulting in shortfalls of as much as 150 mm [DRY - 4 to 7 weeks].

4. Central and Eastern United States:

WINTRY WEATHER PERSISTS Early in the week a significant snow storm dropped up to 40 cm of snow on the Corn Belt and mid-Atlantic. When the storm reached the East Coast, the heavy snow forced the U.S. Government in Washington, DC to close early. Late in the week a second snow storm dumped as much as 60 cm of snow as it trekked from northwestern Oklahoma eastward across the Ozarks, central Appalachians, and mid-Atlantic, and the storm was still affecting New England and Long Island early the following week. The wintry weather disrupted transportation throughout the region [Episodic Events]. Temperatures were 6°C to 9°C below normal across the eastern Great Lakes, central Appalachians, and mid-Atlantic while weekly departures of -3° to -6°C prevailed from the central High Plains eastward to the Atlantic Seaboard and from the Carolinas and northern Arkansas northward to southeastern South Dakota and the St. Lawrence River Valley. The mercury dropped to freezing at Muscle Shoals, AL (35°N), and plummeted to -20°C at Montpelier, VT (44°N) [COLD - 2 weeks].

5. Northwestern South America:

RAINS ABATE, BUT MOISTURE SURPLUSES PERSIST Little or no rain fell on western Venezuela, Colombia, and northwestern Peru, except for totals of 20 to 150 mm in western Colombia. Precipitation surpluses since the beginning of February ranged from 50 to 320 mm [WET - 4 to 12 weeks].

6. East-Central South America:

TEMPERATURES MODERATE Weekly departures were generally less than +3°C, but highs exceeded 30°C throughout Uruguay and northeastern Buenos Aires Province of east-central Argentina [WARM - Ending at 3 to 5 weeks].

7. Europe:

DRY WEATHER EASES WETNESS Light to moderate precipitation dampened north-central Europe, bringing relief from the wet conditions of previous weeks. Northern France, Germany, southern Scandinavia, and the Benelux countries received up to 35 mm while amounts of 10 to 50 mm fell across Poland, the western portions of the FSU, and the Alpine nations. Since the first of February, precipitation surpluses of 50 to 100 mm have accumulated across the region, with higher amounts (up to 280 mm) in the Alps [WET - 4 to 8 weeks].

8. Southeastern Europe and Northwestern Turkey:

STILL VERY WARM Temperatures were 3°C to 6°C above normal across the region, with highs reaching 20°C as far north as Remontnoe, Russia [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

9. Middle East:

DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOP Little or no rain fell from Lebanon and Israel eastward to northwestern Iran. During the 41 days between February 1 and March 13, most of the region received less than 75 mm, allowing deficits of 50 to 145 mm to accumulate [DRY - 4 weeks].

10. Southern Africa:

HEAT WAVE CONTINUES Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal across most of South Africa and adjacent parts of southern Namibia, with the mercury approaching 39°C as far south as Upington, South Africa (28°S) [WARM - 2 to 5 weeks].

11. Southeastern Asia:

COLDER AIR INVADES SOUTHEASTERN CHINA, BUT ABOVE-AVERAGE TEMPERATURES PERSIST ELSEWHERE. Below normal temperatures covered much of south-central and southeastern China last week, bringing the warm anomaly to an abrupt end. Farther east, temperatures were generally less than 3°C above normal across Korea and Japan, except for the Ryukyus. In sharp contrast, temperatures were 3°C to 7°C above normal across extreme eastern India, the Indochina Peninsula, and adjacent parts of southwestern China. The mercury climbed above 25°C as far north as Kunming, China (25°N) [WARM - Ending at 2 to 8 weeks].

12. Southeastern China:

RAIN RELIEVES DRYNESS Moderate precipitation (20 to 70 mm) fell from Hunan eastward to Fujian while lighter amounts (fewer than 30 mm) dampened the remainder of southeastern China. Since the start of February 1, however, deficits of 50 to 135 mm have accumulated across the area [DRY - 5 to 8 weeks].

13. Philippines:

MOISTURE SURPLUSES REMAIN Scattered thunderstorms drenched parts of the central Philippines with up to 215 mm of rain. Since the beginning of February, as much as 940 mm of rain have fallen on the islands, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 55 to 410 mm [WET - 5 to 8 weeks].

14. Southern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia:

MORE WET WEATHER Between 20 and 100 mm of rain during the week soaked the Lesser Sunda Islands and the northern coast of Western Australia. Since February 1, between 400 and 815 mm of rain have saturated much of the Lesser Sundas, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 85 to 550 mm. In northwestern Australia, accumulations of up to 560 mm during this period exceeded the normals by 100 to 410 mm [WET - 5 to 8 weeks].

15. South-Central Australia:

UNUSUALLY WARM CONDITIONS DEVELOP Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal, with highs approaching 40°C as far south Oodnadatta, Australia (28°S) [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].