Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Central Rockies and High Plains:

WET ANOMALY DEVELOPS Moderate to heavy precipitation (50 to 200 mm) fell on eastern Colorado, extreme northeastern New Mexico, and the Texas Panhandle while 10 to 50 mm were reported elsewhere. During the last 42 days, 80 to 230 mm of precipitation accumulated from central Colorado southeastward to northwestern Texas, yielding moisture excesses of 50 to 165 mm [WET - 4 to 7 weeks].

2. Upper Midwestern United States:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK Little or no rain fell on Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan while fewer than 40 mm were measured across the remainder of the region. Short-term (6-week) moisture surpluses were generally within 50 mm, but reached as high as 120 mm at isolated locations in Iowa [WET - Ending at 5 to 7 weeks].

3. Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada:

UNUSUALLY DRY CONDITIONS OVERSPREAD REGION Little or no rain fell on the Northeast and adjacent parts of Canada, and short-term (March 21 - May 1) moisture deficits ranged from 50 to 130 mm. According to the media, the very dry weather exacerbated wildfires in New Jersey [DRY - 4 to 6 weeks].

4. Southeastern and South-Central United States:

STILL ABNORMALLY DRY Although scattered showers brought 20 to 100 mm of rain to the Gulf Coast and peninsular Florida, most of the region received fewer than 30 mm. Moisture deficits of 50 to 160 mm accumulated across the region during the last 6 weeks [DRY - 4 to 13 weeks].

5. Venezuela:

MOISTURE SURPLUSES PERSIST Despite very light rains (fewer than 20 mm), 6-week precipitation excesses ranged from 50 to 270 mm [WET - 5 to 8 weeks].

6. Argentina:

TORRENTIAL RAINS REPORTED Up to 200 mm of rain inundated Cordoba and La Pampa provinces of central Argentina early in the week [Episodic Event].

7. Northern Europe:

WARMTH CONTINUES Temperatures again averaged above normal (+ 2°C to +9°C) over the eastern Baltic Sea region and northwestern Russia with temperatures reaching 25°C at both Kazan, Russia (56°N) and Bugulma, Russia (55°N) [WARM - 2 to 9 weeks].

8. Western Africa:

WARMTH DIMINISHES Average temperatures for the week were near to slightly above normal [WARM - Ending at 2 to 7 weeks].

9. Ethiopia:

PRECIPITATION DEFICITS REMAIN Although 10 to 30 mm of rain fell on central Ethiopia last week, 42-day moisture deficits ranged from 50 to 125 mm. More abundant rains (30 to 100 mm) fell on the western and southern portions of the country [DRY - 4 to 11 weeks].

10. Southeastern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY DIMINISHES Near normal temperatures returned to northeastern South Africa, southern Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and eastern Botswana [WARM - Ended at 2 to 11 weeks].

11. Southern Asia:

LARGE WARM ANOMALY SPREADS WESTWARD Temperatures averaged 2°C to 8°C above normal over an extensive area reaching from western China westward to the eastern Mediterranean coast. Temperatures reached as high as 48°C at Hissar, India (29°N) and 45°C at Lahore, Pakistan (32°N) [WARM - 2 to 6 weeks].

12. East-Central Asia:

WETNESS EASES Dry weather prevailed over the southern coasts of the main islands of Japan and the Ryukyu Islands while up to 20 mm dampened east-central China from Sichuan and Shanxi provinces eastward to Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Since the first of April, however, as much as 450 mm of rain have fallen in east central China and 510 mm in southern Japan, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of up to 280 mm [WET - Ending at 4 to 11 weeks].

13. Southeastern Asia and the Philippines:

LEO SKIRTS VIETNAM; WETNESS CONTINUES ELSEWHERE Minimal Typhoon Leo inundated southern Vietnam with heavy rains (50 to 130 mm) while scattered moderate to heavy rain (20 to 190 mm) kept portions of the Philippines and the remainder of the Indochina Peninsula abnormally wet. Since the first of April, precipitation totals (moisture excesses) reached as much as 750 mm (+665 mm) in Vietnam, 625 mm (+385 mm) in Thailand, and 665 mm (+460 mm) in the Philippines [WET - 4 to 15 weeks].

14. Australia:

EARLY-SEASON COOL CONDITIONS REPORTED Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C below normal across the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria while weekly departures ranged from -1°C to -3°C elsewhere. Subfreezing lows were reported across the higher elevations of Tasmania and the Great Dividing Range of Victoria, and New South Wales [COLD - 2 to 6 weeks].