Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for May 27, 2000

1. British Columbia and Alberta:

STILL UNSEASONABLY COLD
Weekly departures of -2°C to -4°C dominated northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. Subfreezing lows prevailed across the entire region while highs failed to reach 20°C during the past week [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

2. Caribbean and Southeastern United States:

MORE VERY DRY WEATHER
The region received little or no rain, except for localized light to moderate rain showers (25 to 100 mm). Since the beginning of April, less than 200 mm of rain was reported, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 170 mm as the growing season got underway. Farther south, 8-week precipitation totals were also below 200 mm, with moisture deficits ranging from 50 to 300 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

3. Central South America:

RAINFALL ABATES; MOISTURE DEFICITS REMAIN
Between 25 and 50 mm of rain dampened most of Uruguay while 50 to 100 mm fell on northern Uruguay along the Brazilian border and on the south-central portion of the country. Farther west, more than 200 mm fell on isolated portions of east-central Argentina while favorably dry weather prevailed across the remainder of northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and extreme southern Brazil. Short-term (8-week) precipitation totals (and moisture excesses) included 300 to 1010 mm (+100 to +856 mm) in Uruguay, 100 to 750 mm (+50 to +620 mm) in Argentina, and 300 to 350 mm (+50 to +100 mm) in Paraguay [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

4. Eastern Europe:

RAINS AGAIN PROVIDE RELIEF
Scattered light to moderate showers (10 to 30 mm) eased dryness across the region extending from the Gulf of Finland southward to western Ukraine. Little or no rain, however, fell over the southern portion of the dry area in the Balkans. Since the start of April, less than 100 mm of rainfall has accumulated in the region, yielding moisture deficits of 50 to 130 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

5. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

WARMTH CONTINUES
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal over much of the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy, and northwestern Africa, with temperatures reaching 30°C as far north as Milan, Italy (45°N) [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].

6. Western Africa:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PERSIST
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 3°C above normal again last week, with highs ranging from 36°C to 47°C across most of Mali, Burkina Faso, western Niger, and adjacent parts of Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana [WARM - Up to 13 weeks].

7. Gulf of Guinea Coast:

MOISTURE DEFICITS REMAIN
Although moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) fell on southern Burkina Faso and most of Togo and Benin, the remainder of the region received less than 25 mm. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 300 mm of rain has fallen on Ghana, Togo, and Benin, resulting in moisture deficits of 50 to 100 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

8. East-Central Africa:

ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS DOMINATE REGION
Little or no rain fell on Kenya and Ethiopia last week as unusually dry conditions persisted. Fewer than 200 mm of rain has fallen since the beginning of April, yielding short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm at most locations. Meanwhile, a precipitation shortfall of 322 mm was reported at Marsabit in northwestern Kenya [DRY - Up to 18 weeks].

9. Western Asia and Eastern Europe:

COLD ANOMALY REMAINS
Weekly departures of -2°C to -4°C prevailed over western Russia and western Kazakhstan, with lows dropping to 1°C at Atbasar, Kazakhstan (53°N)  [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

10. East-Central China:

STORMS BRING HEAVY RAIN, EASE DRYNESS
Moderate to heavy thunderstorms dropped 25 to 125 mm of rain on east-central China from southern Shaanxi Province southeastward to Fujian and Zhejiang. Short-term (8-week) moisture deficits of 50 to 250 mm still prevail across the region [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

11. Southeastern Asia:

RAINS CONTINUE
Thunderstorms again brought moderate to very heavy rains (25 to 200 mm) to much of southeast Asia. Since April 2, amounts of 200 to 800 mm have doused the region, which are moisture excesses of 70 to 480 mm [WET - Up to 19 weeks].

12. Western Australia:

TEMPERATURES MODERATE
Temperatures were generally within 2°C of normal as milder weather returned. Lows remained above freezing, and highs exceeded 20°C throughout the region [COLD - Ending at 6 weeks].

13. Southeastern Australia:

UNUSUALLY DRY WEATHER CONTINUES
Although 25 to 100 mm of rain fell on the western coast of Tasmania and on scattered locations in Victoria, most of the region received fewer than 25 mm. Since early April, most of the region has received less than 200 mm of rain, except for orographically-favored areas of western Tasmania, but short-term moisture deficits remained below 100 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].