Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for March 10, 2001

1. Northwestern United States and Southwestern Canada:

PRECIPITATION DEFICITS PREVAIL
Little or no precipitation fell on British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon as abnormally dry weather dominated the region. Although as much as 400 mm of precipitation has fallen on the Pacific Northwest during the last 8 weeks, precipitation deficits ranged from 100 to 350 mm [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

2. California:

HEAVY RAINS DRENCH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In sharp contrast to the Pacific Northwest (above), torrential rains (100 to 500 mm) inundated southern California between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara while 25 to 100 mm fell on the remainder of coastal southern California. East of the mountains, weekly precipitation totals ranged from 10 to 25 mm. During the last 8 weeks, between 100 and 360 mm of precipitation has fallen on the coast of central and southern California, allowing moisture excesses of 50 to 200 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

3. Eastern South Dakota:

COLD POCKET REMAINS
Weekly departures of -3°C to -6°C persisted in eastern South Dakota, with the mercury dropping below -20°C on the western edge of the depicted region. Despite the cold weather, weekly highs were above freezing [COLD - Up to 6 weeks].

4. South-Central United States:

MOISTURE SURPLUSES PERSIST
Between 25 and 50 mm of rain fell on eastern Texas and western Louisiana, but fewer than 25 mm were recorded elsewhere, providing limited relief from excessive wetness. During the last 8 weeks, precipitation totaled 100 to 450 mm, with short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 220 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

5. Florida:

STILL ABNORMALLY DRY
Although 25 to 50 mm of rain dampened parts of west-central, northeastern, and southeastern Florida, most of the state received only 10 to 25 mm. Fewer than 110 mm of rain was reported at Florida locations during the last 8 weeks, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 160 mm [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

6. Central and Southern South America:

WARMTH PERSISTS
Temperature departures of +2°C to +6°C again prevailed over much of central Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and the western Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil. Temperatures reached as high as 40°C at La Rioja, Argentina (29°S) [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].

7. Northern Europe:

COLD WEATHER DIMINISHES
Temperatures, averaging 2°C to 3°C below normal, were limited to northwestern Scandinavia as warmer air moved into the region [COLD - Ending at 3 weeks].

8. Southern Africa:

WETNESS CONTINUES
Storms, partly fueled by moisture from Tropical Storm Dera, doused much of Zimbabwe and central Mozambique with moderate to heavy rain (25 to 150 mm). During the last 8 weeks,  280 to 850 mm has drenched southern Africa, allowing moisture surpluses of 70 to 350 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

9. Northern Philippines:

DRIER WEATHER PREVAILS
Showers soaked widely scattered parts of Luzon Island with moderate to heavy rain (25 to 100 mm). Since the middle of January, Luzon has received 150 to 800 mm of rain, with short-term moisture excesses ranging from 90 to 400 mm [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

10. Western Australia:

FAVORABLY DRY WEATHER PREVAILS
Little or no rain fell on most of Western Australia, providing relief from unusually wet conditions. An exception, however, occurred at one location in east-central Western Australia, where 100 to 200 mm of rain was reported. Since the middle of January, 100 to 300 mm of rain has fallen on central and southern Western Australia, resulting in moisture surpluses of 50 to 220 mm. Further north, 8-week totals of 300 to 710 mm yielded moisture excesses as high as 470 mm [WET - Ending at 5 weeks].

11. Southeastern Australia:

LATE-SUMMER HEAT CONTINUES
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 6°C above normal across South Australia, western New South Wales, and most of Victoria, with the highest weekly departures reported in western Victoria. Highs ranged from 30°C to 40°C across the three provinces [WARM - Up to 16 weeks].