Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Central Rockies:

ABOVE-NORMAL PRECIPITATION REPORTED Between 20 and 50 mm (with locally higher amounts to 100 mm) of precipitation fell on Wyoming and Colorado during the past week. During the last 28 days, 50 to 140 mm of precipitation were reported, which is 190% to 320% of normal for the 4-week period [WET - 4 weeks].

2. Upper Midwest:

FROM UNUSUALLY DRY TO ABNORMALLY WET In sharp contrast to the dry conditions during February and March, the region received 20 to 100 mm of precipitation last week, and a total of 110 to 180 mm during the past 28 days [WET - 4 to 6 weeks].

3. Southeastern United States:

STILL VERY DRY Little or no rain fell on Florida and the adjacent parts of Georgia and Alabama again last week. In addition, short-term (March 1 - April 24) precipitation shortfalls ranged from 50 to 170 mm [DRY - 5 to 12 weeks].

4. Venezuela:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK Little or no rain fell on Venezuela, except for 10 to 50 mm in the western and northeastern portions of the country. Despite the relatively dry weather, precipitation surpluses since March 1 remained as high as 50 to 290 mm [WET - 4 to 7 weeks].

5. Northern Europe:

WARMTH REMAINS Temperatures averaged 4°C to 9°C above normal over the Baltic Sea region, with temperatures reaching as high as 23°C at Vytegra, Russia (61°N) [WARM - 2 to 8 weeks].

6. Western Africa:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PERSIST Abnormally warm air (temperatures 2°C to 5°C above normal) covered most of the western Sahel. Temperatures reached 44°C at Nioro du Sahel, Mali (15°N) [WARM - 2 to 6 weeks].

7. Kenya and Ethiopia:

DRYNESS PERSISTS IN ETHIOPIA WHILE LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINS DAMPEN KENYA Fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on central and southern Ethiopia, but 30 to 80 mm were recorded in northern and central Kenya. Since the beginning of March, moisture shortages of 60 to 170 mm accumulated [DRY - 4 to 10 weeks].

8. Southern Tanzania and Northern Mozambique:

MOISTURE SURPLUSES REMAIN Between 200 and 460 mm of rain have drenched the region since the beginning of March, resulting in moisture surpluses of 50 to 150 mm [WET - 6 to 9 weeks].

9. Southeastern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY SHIFTS NORTHEASTWARD Cooler air overspreading much of southern and central South Africa pushed the warm air northeastward into eastern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, and the Northern Transvaal of South Africa. Weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C prevailed across much of the aforementioned region, with highs exceeding 39°C as far south as Beitbridge (22°S) [WARM - 2 to 11 weeks].

10. Southern Asia:

WARM ANOMALY SPREADS OVER SOUTH ASIA Temperatures averaged 3°C to 8°C above normal over a large region extending from northern and central India eastward to eastern China. Temperatures reached as high as 35°C at Xichang, China (28°N) and 45°C at Hissar, India (29°N) [WARM - 2 to 5 weeks].

11. East-Central Asia:

MORE THUNDERSTORMS Thunderstorms drenched parts of east central China from Sichuan and Shanxi provinces eastward to Zhejiang and Jiangsu with heavy rains of 80 to 260 mm. Heavy precipitation (75 to 300 mm) also deluged the Ryukyu Islands and southern coastal Japan. Since the first of March, as much as 630 mm of rain have fallen in east-central China and 800 mm in southern Japan, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of up to 475 mm [WET - 4 to 10 weeks].

12. The Philippines and Southeastern Asia:

KATE BRUSHES PHILIPPINES; WETNESS CONTINUES ELSEWHERE Tropical Storm Kate deluged the east-central Philippines with torrential rains (75 to 360 mm). Meanwhile, scattered moderate to heavy rain (20 to 190 mm) kept the remainder of the Philippines and most of the Indochina Peninsula abnormally wet. Since the start of March, precipitation totals (moisture excesses) reached as high as 1500 mm (+780 mm) in the Philippines), 725 mm (+500 mm) in Thailand, and 460 mm (+420 mm) in Vietnam [WET - 4 to 14 weeks].

13. East-Central Australia:

UNUSUALLY COOL CONDITIONS DEVELOP Temperatures were 1°C to 6°C below normal across interior portions of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, with the mercury dipping below freezing at Wagga Wagga (35°S) in central New South Wales [COLD 2 to 3 weeks].