1. Southwestern British Columbia and Northwestern United States:
DRY ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Little or no precipitation fell on British Columbia while only light amounts
(10 to 25 mm) dampened western Washington. During the past 8 weeks, moisture
deficits of 100 to 450 accumulated across the region, with the largest
shortfalls recorded at exposed coastal locations [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].
2. Southern United States and Northern Mexico:
UNSEASONABLY WARM CONDITIONS EXPAND EASTWARD
Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal from southeastern
California and southern Nevada eastward across the southern United States
to eastern Alabama, with weekly departures reaching +8°C along the
Gulf Coast and throughout much of Texas. Similar weekly departures (+3°C
to +8°C) prevailed across northern Mexico. The mercury soared above
30°C in southern and central Texas while highs reached 37°C at
Monterrey, Mexico (26°N) [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].
3. Louisiana and Eastern Texas:
SIGNIFICANT DRYNESS REPORTED
Little or no precipitation has fallen on Louisiana and eastern Texas during
the past 3 weeks, as the year 2000 growing season approaches. In addition,
8-week totals were generally in the 25 to 100 mm range, resulting in precipitation
shortfalls of 50 to 180 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].
4. Western Great Lakes:
MORE DRY WEATHER
Little or no precipitation was reported across southeastern Wisconsin,
central and southern Michigan, northeastern Illinois, and the northern
portions of Indiana and Ohio for the 5th consecutive week while 10 to 25
mm fell along the southern fringes of the region. Short-term (8-week) moisture
deficits were generally less than 100 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].
5. Northern England and the Baltics:
WETNESS CONTINUES
Storms again swept across Europe from northern England eastward into northwestern
Belarus, dropping moderate to heavy precipitation (20 to 80 mm) along their
paths. During the last 8 weeks, moisture excesses of up to 140 mm have
accumulated across the region [WET - Up to 5 weeks].
6. Northern Scandinavia:
WETNESS REMAINS
Light to moderate precipitation (10 to 30 mm) kept much of northern Scandinavia
relatively wet. Since the last week of December, 110 to 370 mm has fallen
over the region, yielding precipitation surpluses of 50 to 160 mm [WET
- Up to 7 weeks].
7. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:
DRY ANOMALY CONTINUES
Dry conditions continued to prevail across southern Europe from Spain eastward
into north central Italy as well as across the Canary Islands, Morocco,
and northern Algeria. The region has generally received less than 100 mm
of rain during the last 8 weeks, with moisture shortages ranging from 50
to 190 mm [DRY - Up to 11 weeks].
8. Senegal and the Gambia:
STILL UNUSUALLY WARM
Weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C dominated the Gambia and Senegal,
with highs ranging from 30°C to 38°C [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].
9. Gulf of Guinea Coast and Western Sahel:
ABNORMALLY COOL WEATHER DOMINATES THE REGION
In sharp contrast to extreme western Africa (see item 8 above), temperatures
averaged 2°C to 5°C below normal from Côte D'Ivoire and southeastern
Mali eastward through Niger and Nigeria. Lows plummeted to 3°C as far
south as Bilma, Niger (19°N), and ranged from 10°C to 20°C
elsewhere [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].
10. Southeastern Africa:
ABUNDANT RAINS CONTINUE AS TROPICAL CYCLONE ELINE THREATENS
Tropical Cyclone Eline, packing sustained winds of 148 kph and gusts of
185 kph made landfall on east-central Madagascar and rapidly weakened.
The system, however, is regaining strength in the Mozambique Channel. Meanwhile,
moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) drenched Zimbabwe, but lesser amounts
(10 to 100 mm) were reported across northern South Africa. Since late December,
200 to 600 mm of rain has fallen on the region, resulting in moisture excesses
of 100 to 400 mm [WET - Up to 15 weeks].
11. Australia:
HEAVY RAINS SOAK COUNTRY
Moderate to very heavy rains (25 to 180 mm) saturated much of Australia
from the Indian Ocean coast of central Western Australia eastward to the
Pacific coast of central Queensland. In addition, torrential precipitation
(200 to 365 mm) inundated parts of central Queensland. During the last
8 weeks, 100 to 750 mm has fallen over the area, leaving moisture excesses
of 50 to 315 mm [WET - Up to 5 weeks].