1. California:
UNUSUALLY DRY WEATHER EXACERBATES WILDFIRE CONDITIONS
Little or no rain fell on central and southern California again last week
as abnormally dry conditions prevailed across most of the state. Since
November 5, most locations received fewer than 100 mm of precipitation,
resulting in short-term moisture shortages of 100 to 200 mm along the coast,
and 50 to 100 mm inland. According to the media, the dryness has aggravated
wildfire conditions in the southern portions of California [DRY - Up to
5 weeks].
2. Central and Eastern United States:
BITTER COLD, WINTER STORMS PLAGUE UNITED STATES
Temperatures averaging 3°C to 8°C below normal dominated the United
States east of the Rockies, with departures approaching -10°C in the
Midwest. The mercury plummeted below -20°C as far south as northern
Missouri while subfreezing lows penetrated all the way to central Florida.
Highs failed to reach freezing as far south as northwestern Arkansas [COLD
- Up to 9 weeks]. A major winter storm dumped 20 to 30 cm of snow on parts
of the Northeast late in the week, with up to 51 cm of snow blanketing
parts of New Jersey. Meanwhile, abnormally low temperatures hampered recovery
operations in the southern Plains, according to press reports [Episodic
Events].
3. Central Argentina:
DRY ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Fewer than 25 mm of rain fell on most of Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces
of central Argentina. Since early November, only 50 to 90 mm of rain has
fallen on the region, but short-term moisture deficits remained below 100
mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].
4. Iberian Peninsula:
STORMS BRING HEAVY RAIN
Atlantic storms again drenched northern Portugal and the coast of northwestern
Spain with heavy rain (100 to 150 mm) as amounts of 25 to 100 mm soaked
the remainder of the region. During the last 8 weeks, 250 to 1150 mm has
saturated the area, resulting in precipitation excesses of 150 to 720 mm
[WET - Up to 18 weeks].
5. Western Europe:
WARM ANOMALY REMAINS
Temperature departures of +2°C to +4°C prevailed over southern
France, with the mercury reaching 10°C to 19°C [WARM - Up to 15
weeks].
6. Senegal and the Gambia:
STILL ABNORMALLY HOT
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 6°C above normal again last week.
Weekly highs were generally around 36°C to 37°C [WARM - Up to 4
weeks].
7. Siberia:
COLD WEATHER CONTINUES
Bitter cold, characterized by temperatures averaging 4°C to 12°C
below normal, continued to dominate much of Siberia, northeastern Mongolia,
and northeastern China. The mercury plunged to -54°C at Selagoncy,
Russia (66°N) [COLD - Up to 12 weeks].
8. Northern Australia:
UNUSUALLY COOL WEATHER PERSISTS
Weekly departures of -2°C to -6°C prevailed across western Queensland
and the central and eastern portions of the Northern Territory, with lows
at most locations ranging from 10°C to 20°C. Weekly highs, however,
climbed above 30°C [COLD - Up to 5 weeks].
9. Northeastern Australia:
MORE WET WEATHER
Torrential rains (100 to 200 mm) drenched the northern portions of the
Northern Territory and coastal locations of Queensland while moderate to
heavy precipitation (25 to 100 mm) fell on the northern half of the Northern
Territory and most of interior Queensland. During the last 8 weeks, between
100 and 670 mm of rain has fallen on the region, yielding moisture excesses
of 100 to 400 mm [WET - Up to 14 weeks].