Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Hawaiian Islands:

STILL VERY DRY Little or no rain fell on Hawaii during the past week. During the last 8 weeks the islands have received fewer than 60 mm of rain, yielding precipitation shortfalls of 100 to 320 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

2. Western United States:

FAVORABLY DRY WEATHER PREVAILS Although 25 to 100 mm of precipitation fell on western Oregon, the remainder of the region received little or none. Between January 23 and March 18, more than 200 mm of precipitation accumulated on the West Coast and on the windward slopes of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, resulting in moisture surpluses of 50 to 220 mm [WET - Ending at 9 weeks].

3. Eastern United States:

DRY ANOMALY SPREADS Fewer than 50 mm of precipitation were recorded across most of the region, except for totals of 50 to 160 mm in southeastern Louisiana, southern portions of Mississippi and Alabama, scattered locations in the southern Appalachians, and portions of peninsular Florida. During the past 8 weeks, precipitation totaled 50 to 150 mm, allowing moisture shortages of 50 to 200 mm to persist [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

4. Colombia:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK Although 25 to 100 mm of rain fell on west-central Colombia, the remainder of the country received fewer than 25 mm. Short-term (8-week) moisture surpluses ranged from 50 to 275 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

5. Central South America:

WET ANOMALY DEVELOPS Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) soaked eastern Bolivia and central Brazil from northern Mato Grosso do Sul and southern Mato Grosso eastward to western Minas Gerais and northern Sao Paulo during the past week. During the past 8 weeks, 200 to over 500 mm of rain has fallen on the region, yielding moisture excesses 200 to 500 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

6. Central Europe:

DRIER WEATHER EASES WETNESS Only scattered light to moderate precipitation (10 to 50 mm) was reported from Denmark southward to northeastern France, and eastward to Lithuania and western Belarus, providing relief form the persistent wetness in much of the area. Heavier amounts (up to 150 mm), however, soaked much of Austria and Switzerland. Since mid-January, amounts of 110 to 250 mm (with higher amounts of up to 1000 mm in the Alps) have accumulated in the region which, except in the Alps, range from 50 to 110 mm above normal [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

7. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

DRYNESS CONTINUES Little or no rain fell from the Iberian Peninsula eastward to southern Italy and the northern Balkans. In addition, scanty precipitation was reported in Morocco and the islands of the southeastern North Atlantic. Much of the region has received less than 80 mm of rain since mid January, yielding moisture shortages of 60 to 240 mm [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

8. Western Europe and Western Africa:

HEAT SPREADS NORTHWARD Temperatures again averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal across the Iberian Peninsula eastward into Italy, and 3°C to 4°C above normal over the British Isles. The mercury soared to 23°C at Milan, Italy (45°N) and to 26°C at Seville, Spain (37°N). Hot weather also continued in northwestern Africa from Morocco southward to Guinea Bissau, with weekly departures of +2°C to +7°C. Temperatures reached as high as 43°C at Rosso, Mauritania (17°N) [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

9. Turkey:

COLD ANOMALY CONTINUES Weekly departures of -2°C to -4°C again prevailed across eastern Turkey, with lows dipping to -14°C at Van (38°N) [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

10. Central Africa:

DRYNESS PERSISTS Except for widely scattered showers of up to 80 mm, dry weather continued across central Africa from southern Cameroon southward to the mouth of the Congo River, and westward to southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Mositure shortages of 55 to 380 mm have accumulated across the region since January 23 [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

11. Southern Africa:

MORE HEAVY RAIN Heavy rains (100 to 265 mm) continued to plague southern Africa from southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe southward to southeastern South Africa. During the last 8 weeks, amounts of 150 to 650 mm have inundated the region, which generated moisture excesses of 85 to 450 mm [WET - Up to 19 weeks].

12. Hokkaido, Japan:

DRY ANOMALY PERSISTS Little or no precipitation fell on southern and eastern Hokkaido. Only 20 to 100 mm of precipitation accumulated during the last 8 weeks, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 120 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

13. The Philippines and Northeastern Sarawak:

ABUNDANT RAINS REPORTED Between 100 and 500 mm of rain drenched the east-central Philippines while the remainder of the central and southern Philippines received 25 to 100 mm. Since January 23, as much as 1700 mm of rain has fallen on the country, allowing moisture surpluses of 100 to 600 mm to accumulate. Locally higher excesses of 700 to 1020 mm were measured over the past 8 weeks [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

14. Western Indonesia:

ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS DOMINATE Although 25 to 100 mm of rain fell on Sumatra and western Borneo last week, short-term (8-week) precipitation shortfalls were as high as 340 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

15. Western Australia:

UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER PERSISTS Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C below normal during the past week. Lows plummeted below 10°C as far north as Perth (32°S), and highs along the southwestern coast failed to reach 30°C [COLD - Up to 6 weeks].

16. Australia:

WET WEATHER ABATES Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) were restricted to the Cape York Peninsula, New Arnhem Land, and northern Western Australia while lesser amounts (10 to 50 mm) fell on central Western Australia. The remainder of the depicted region received little or none. During the last 8 weeks, between 500 and 1100 mm of rain drenched the northern tier of Australia north of 20°S while 100 to 500 mm accumulated elsewhere. The abundant rains engendered moisture excesses of 100 to 650 mm since late January [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

17. Southeastern Australia:

HIGH TEMPERATURES RETURN In sharp contrast to conditions in Western Australia, weekly departures of +2°C to +5°C dominated eastern South Australia and most of Victoria, with highs exceeding 30°C as far south as Wilson's Promontory (39°S). The mercury remained above 20°C as far south as central New South Wales (34°S) [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].