Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for March 25, 2000

1. Hawaiian Islands:

ABNORMAL DRYNESS CONTINUES THROUGHOUT ARCHIPELAGO
Little or no rain fell on the Islands this past week, with even Hilo reporting fewer than 25 mm of precipitation. Since January 30, Hilo has received less than 75 mm of rain, allowing a moisture deficit of almost 500 mm to accumulate. Elsewhere, 8-week totals failed to reach 25 mm, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of 100 to over 300 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

2. Midwestern United States:

VERY DRY WEATHER DOMINATES
Much of the eastern Corn Belt and the Great Lakes region received fewer than 25 mm of precipitation, allowing 8-week moisture shortages of 50 to 170 to dominate the region [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

3. Southeastern United States:

DRY CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Little or no rain fell on peninsular Florida while 10 to 25 mm dampened extreme northern Florida and the southern sections of Georgia and Alabama. Short-term (8-week) moisture deficits remained in the 50 to 200 mm range [DRY - Up to 11 weeks].

4. Colombia:

WET WEATHER PERSISTS
Moderate rains (25 to 100 mm, with locally higher amounts) soaked the region as unusually wet conditions dominated the country. As much as 1015 mm of rain has fallen on Colombia since the end of January, allowing precipitation excesses to reach as high as 250 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

5. South-Central Brazil:

LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINS MAINTAIN MOISTURE SURPLUSES
Between 25 and 50 mm of rain fell on Mato Grosso do Sul, western Sao Paulo, extreme western Minas Gerais, and southern Goias states of Brazil, with locally heavy showers dumping up to 200 mm at isolated locations. Short-term (8-week) precipitation totals of 200 to 800 mm resulted in moisture excesses of 100 to 300 mm [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

6. Central Europe:

FAVORABLY DRY WEATHER PREVAILS
Light to moderate precipitation (10 to 25 mm) was widely scattered over the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, but dry conditions prevailed elsewhere in the region. Since the end of January, however, amounts of 100 to 220 mm (with higher amounts of up to 925 mm in the Alps) have accumulated which, except in the Alps, range from 50 to 110 mm above normal [WET - Ending at 10 weeks].

7. Central Mediterranean:

WARM ANOMALY DIMINISHES
Temperatures averaged 1°C to 3°C above normal as unusually warm weather abated. High temperatures for the week were in the 15°C to 23°C range, but subfreezing lows were reported at interior locations [WARM - Ending at 5 weeks].

8. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

SCATTERED RAINS EASE DRYNESS
Storms brought scattered rain (25 to 65 mm) to the Iberian Peninsula, relieving dryness at some locations. Scattered rains (10 to 30 mm) also brought some relief to parts of southern France and Italy. Much of the region has still received less than 100 mm of rain since January 30th, yielding moisture shortages of 60 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 15 weeks].

9. Greece and Turkey:

STILL UNUSUALLY COLD
Weekly departures of -2°C to -7°C dominated Greece and Turkey, with subfreezing lows across the region. The mercury plummeted below -10°C at Usak, Turkey (39°N) while highs failed to reach 20°C at most locations [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

10. Central Africa:

DRYNESS CONTINUES
Except for moderate to heavy showers of up to 70 mm across Gabon, dry weather again prevailed across central Africa from southern Cameroon southward to the mouth of the Congo River and eastward to southern Ethiopia and Kenya. Moisture shortages of 55 to 360 mm have accumulated since the end of January [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

11. Southern Africa:

RAINS CONTINUE
Moderate to heavy rains (25 to 110 mm) continued to saturate much of southern Africa from southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe southwestward to southern South Africa and southern Namibia. During the last 8 weeks, amounts of 130 to 670 mm have inundated the region, allowing rainfall excesses to reach 55 to 485 mm [WET - Up to 20 weeks].

12. East-Central China:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS
Little or no rain again fell again over east central China from southern Shaanxi Province eastward to southern Shandong and Jiangsu. Most of the area has received less than 60 mm of rain since the end of January, yielding moisture shortages of 50 to 80 mm [DRY - Up to 5 weeks].

13. The Philippines, Northern Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia:

ABUNDANT RAINS CONTINUE
Moderate to heavy thundershowers dropped 50 to 200 mm of rain on the region again this past week. Since late January, as much as 1500 mm of precipitation has fallen on the Philippines, allowing widely varying moisture surpluses of 100 to over 1000 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 10 weeks].

14. Western Australia:

UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER PERSISTS
Temperatures were 2°C to 6°C below normal last week, but the mercury remained above 10°C. Highs exceeded 30°C at most interior locations, but failed to reach 30°C along the southern and southwestern coasts of Western Australia [COLD - Up to 7 weeks].

15. Western Half of Australia:

MORE MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION REPORTED
Between 50 and 200 mm of rain drenched central Western Australia while 10 to 50 mm fell on the remainder of Western Australia. Since the end of January, 100 to 620 mm of rain has fallen on Western Australia, yielding precipitation excesses of 50 to 450 mm [WET - Up to 10 weeks].