Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for March 24, 2001

1. Northwestern United States and Southwestern Canada:

PRECIPITATION DEFICITS REMAIN
Although 25 to 100 mm of precipitation fell on southwestern British Columbia and western Washington, most of the region received fewer than 25 mm. Between January 28 and March 24, only 100 to 500 mm of precipitation fell on the normally very wet region, allowing short-term moisture shortages of 50 to 300 mm to accumulate. Please see the U. S. Drought Monitor for more information [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

2. Southern United States:

WET WEATHER SHIFTS EASTWARD
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) brought limited relief from long-term dryness to the Southeast from central Alabama southeastward to southeastern Florida. Further west, relatively dry weather (less than 25 mm of rain at most locations) was reported. During the last 8 weeks, most locations received 100 to 400 mm of precipitation, resulting in short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 200 mm. Despite the unusually wet weather, longer-term moisture shortages persisted. Please see the U. S. Drought Monitor for detailed information [WET - Up to 10 weeks].

3. Central South America:

ABNORMALLY WARM CONDITIONS PERSIST
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal, with scattered weekly departures of +6°C to +8°C in parts of Brazil. Highs exceeded 30°C as far south as southern Uruguay while readings remained above 20°C across Paraguay and Brazil [WARM - Up to 10 weeks].

4. France:

FLOODING REPORTED BY THE MEDIA
Between 50 and 100 mm of rain fell on northern France. The press reported that flooding occurred along the Seine River in Paris because of an unusually rainy winter [Episodic Event].

5. Mediterranean Basin:

MORE UNUSUALLY WARM WEATHER
Above normal temperatures, characterized by weekly departures of +3°C to +10°C dominated the entire Mediterranean Basin from France and the Alps southward to the Sahara Desert. Highs ranged from 30°C to 39°C across northern Africa, Sicily, southeastern Spain, and the Middle East while reading of 20°C to 29°C prevailed across Turkey and southern Europe. Subfreezing lows were restricted to Turkey and the higher elevations of southern Europe [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

6. Southern Africa:

HIGHLY VARIABLE PRECIPITATION REPORTED
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) doused northeastern Zimbabwe, but the remainder of the country received fewer than 25 mm. Since January 28, Zimbabwe received 200 to 1000 mm of rain, with 8-week precipitation excesses ranging from 100 to 630 mm. Data received from Mozambique were inadequate for detailed analyses [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

7. Eastern Asia:

WARM ANOMALY SPREADS
Weekly departures of +6°C to +10°C dominated eastern China from eastern Shaanxi eastward to the coast while departures of +2°C to +6°C prevailed across Japan, Korea, and the remainder of central and eastern China. Highs exceeded 20°C as far north as northern Ningxia and western Liaoning provinces of northern China, southern North Korea, and central Honshu Island of Japan while the mercury soared above 30°C across most of southern China. The mercury remained above freezing across central and eastern China from Shanxi, Shandong, and southern Hebei southward to Hainan [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].

8. Peninsular Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines:

WET WEATHER DOMINATES MALAY PENINSULA AND THE CENTRAL PHILIPPINES
More than 100 mm of rain drenched peninsular sections of Malaysia and Thailand while 50 to 100 mm fell on northern Borneo and the central portion of the Philippine Archipelago. During the last 8 weeks, Hinatuan, Philippines received 1580 mm of rain, a surplus of 710 mm, while 8-week precipitation totals generally ranged from 100 to 1000 mm, resulting in moisture excesses of 100 to 500 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

9. North-Central Australia:

HEAVY RAINS RETURN
Torrential rains (100 to 500 mm) inundated extreme northeastern Western Australia and northwestern Northern Territory while moderate to heavy rains (50 to 100 mm) soaked much of western Northern Territory and adjacent parts of eastern Western Australia. Since late January, as much as 765 mm of rain has fallen on the region, yielding short-term moisture excesses of 50 to locally 550 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

10. Southwestern Australia:

UNSEASONABLY COOL CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Temperatures were 2°C to 5°C below normal across South Australia, most of Western Australia, southern Northern Territory, and western New South Wales. Lows of 10°C to 19°C dominated the region, but the mercury dropped below 10°C at a few locations as far north as 29°S [COLD - 2 weeks].