1. Alaska and Northwestern Canada:
VERY MILD WEATHER DOMINATES REGION
Weekly departures of +6°C to +17°C prevailed across much of Alaska
and northwestern Canada. The mercury climbed above freezing across southern
Alaska while highs of -1°C to -10°C prevailed elsewhere. Lows were
generally above -10°C along the southern coast of Alaska while the
mercury remained above -20°C across the remainder of southern Alaska
[WARM - Up to 4 weeks].
2. Northwestern United States:
STILL VERY DRY
Little or no precipitation was reported except for 25 to 50 mm at some
orographically-favored locations. Precipitation totaled 100 to 500 mm between
December 3, 2000 and January 27, 2001, resulting in moisture deficits of
50 to 270 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].
3. Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada:
MORE VERY DRY WEATHER
Little or no precipitation fell on the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River
Valley, New England, and the Canadian Maritimes during the last week, except
for isolated totals of 10 to 50 mm in southern Quebec and parts of Nova
Scotia. Since early December, most locations received fewer than 100 mm
while parts of the Canadian Maritimes accumulated up to 200 mm. Short-term
precipitation shortfalls ranged from 50 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].
4. Extreme Southern South America:
UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS DEVELOP
More than 100 mm of rain drenched the area this past week. Between 140
and 800 mm of precipitation has fallen on Tierra del Fuego since early
December, yielding moisture surpluses of 50 to 400 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].
5. Western Europe:
STILL ABNORMALLY WET
Heavy rains (100 to 200 mm) drenched northern Portugal and extreme northwestern
Spain while moderate precipitation (50 to 100 mm) soaked western France
and southern Great Britain. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 450 mm of precipitation
fell on most of the region, resulting in short-term moisture surpluses
of 100 to 200 mm while 300 to 1100 mm of rain inundated western Spain during
the same 8 weeks, with moisture excesses of 300 to 720 mm [WET - Up to
22 weeks].
6. Northern Scandinavia and Adjacent Russia:
UNUSUALLY MILD CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Temperatures averaging 2°C to 7°C above normal dominated northern
Scandinavia and northwestern European Russia. The mercury climbed above
the freezing point at most locations, but readings generally dropped below
-10°C during the week [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].
7. Western Mediterranean:
WARM ANOMALY PERSISTS
Weekly departures of +2°C to +7°C dominated the western Mediterranean,
with highs approaching 20°C in southern Europe and ranging from 20°C
to 28°C in northern Africa. Lows remained above freezing during the
week, except across interior portions of Spain and southern France [WARM
- Up to 19 weeks].
8. Southern Africa:
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS REPORTED
Only 25 to 50 mm of rain fell on northern Zimbabwe and northeastern Namibia
while little or none was reported elsewhere. Totals since the beginning
of December were generally less than 200 mm, resulting in precipitation
shortfalls of 50 to 150 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].
9. Eastern Siberia:
COLD ANOMALY ABATES
Highly variable weekly departures ranged from -2°C to -13°C, with
weekly lows approaching -59°C at Verhojansk, Russia (68°N) [COLD
- Ending at 16 weeks].
10. Eastern Australia:
DRY ANOMALY SHIFTS NORTHWARD
Little or no rain fell on southeastern Queensland and northeastern New
South Wales as very dry conditions migrated northward. During the past
8 weeks, fewer than 100 mm of rain fell on the region, except along the
coast, where totals approached 150 mm. Short-term precipitation shortfalls
ranged from 50 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].
11. Southeastern Australia:
HEAT WAVE CONTINUES
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 7°C above normal last week, with the
largest positive departures reported in western Victoria and southern New
South Wales. Weekly highs ranged from 37°C to 44°C across the region,
with the high temperatures exacerbating the dryness in eastern Australia
[WARM - Up to 10 weeks].