1. Northwestern United States and Southwestern Canada:
MOISTURE DEFICITS PERSIST
Only 25 to 50 mm of precipitation fell on favored locations of Washington
and British Columbia while fewer than 25 mm were reported elsewhere. Although
as much as 500 mm of precipitation occurred during the past 8 weeks, short-term
moisture shortages of 50 to 330 mm dominated the region [DRY - Up to 11
weeks].
2. Northern United States and Adjacent Canada:
COLD AIR REMAINS ENTRENCHED
Temperatures were 2°C to 6°C below normal across the northern Rockies
and northern Great Plains, with weekly departures reaching -8°C in
parts of Montana and South Dakota. Lows plummeted below -30°C at some
locations in Alberta, Montana, and North Dakota while readings below -20°C
dominated the remainder of the region. Despite the very cold weather, the
mercury managed to rise above freezing at most locations [COLD - Up to
5 weeks].
3. Central United States:
ABUNDANT PRECIPITATION CONTINUES IN SOUTHERN PLAINS; FAVORABLY
DRY ELSEWHERE
Little or no precipitation fell on the central states from central Oklahoma
northeastward to northern Illinois during the past week. Meanwhile, torrential
rains (100 to 250 mm) drenched the South from northeastern Texas eastward
to central Georgia while moderate to heavy precipitation dominated the
remainder of the region. Since early January, between 100 and 400 mm of
precipitation has fallen on the region, yielding moisture surpluses of
50 to 200 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].
4. Florida:
WARM AND DRY WEATHER DOMINATES FLORIDA
Despite the heavy precipitation further north, little or no rain was observed
across Florida. With 8-week totals of less than 100 mm prevailing across
the state, precipitation shortfalls ranged from 50 to 160 mm [DRY - Up
to 11 weeks]. Temperatures averaging 2°C to 8°C above normal exacerbated
the very dry conditions across the state. The mercury soared above 30°C
in southern Florida while highs of 25°C to 29°C dominated the remainder
of Florida [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].
5. Northeastern United States and Canadian Maritimes:
COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Weekly departures of -2°C to -7°C dominated eastern New York, New
England, and the Canadian Maritimes, with lows of -20°C to -30°C
prevailing across the area. The mercury remained below freezing across
most of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the central and eastern
portions of Nova Scotia [COLD - Up to 2 weeks]. As the new week began,
a major snowstorm was developing across the northeastern United States,
resulting in disruption of travel and the closing of schools [Episodic
Event].
6. Southern South America:
WARM ANOMALY CONTINUES
Temperature departures of +3°C to +5°C persisted over an area extending
from Chile eastward across Uruguay and Argentina. Temperatures climbed
to as high as 39°C at Chamical, Argentina (30°S) [WARM - Up to
7 weeks].
7. Northern Europe:
COLD WEATHER PERSISTS
Temperature departures of -4°C to -14°C prevailed from the Faroe
Islands and the Norwegian Sea eastward across northwestern Russia.
The mercury plunged as low as -35°C at Roros, Norway (63°N) and
-47°C at Dudinka, Russia (69°N) [COLD - Up to 2 weeks].
8. Southern Africa:
WETNESS DEVELOPS
Storms drenched northeastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, and central Mozambique
with heavy rain (50 to 230 mm). During the last 8 weeks, between
300 and 800 mm has fallen over the area, allowing moisture surpluses of
80 to 370 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 6 weeks].
9. Northern Philippines:
WETNESS CONTINUES
Thunderstorms again soaked Luzon Island with moderate to heavy rain (25
to 250 mm). Since January 7th, 100 to 750 mm of rain has fallen on
much of the island, with short-term moisture excesses ranging from 60 to
320 mm [WET - Up to 5 weeks].
10. Western Australia:
HEAVY RAINS REPORTED
The remnants of Tropical Storm Abigail brought torrential rains (100 to
200 mm, with locally heavier amounts to 500 mm) to northern Western Australia
and northwestern Northern Territory during the past week. Unusually heavy
precipitation was reported for the third consecutive week at many
locations [WET - Up to 4 weeks].
11. Southeastern Australia:
HIGH TEMPERATURES PERSIST
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal across most of South
Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. Highs of 40°C to 43°C
dominated northern portions of New South Wales and South Australia while
readings in the thirties (°C) prevailed across the remainder of the
region [WARM - Up to 15 weeks].