Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for April 28, 2001

1. North-Central United States:

HEAVY RAINS REPORTED
Between 50 and 125 mm of rain soaked the region from southeastern South Dakota northeastward to the Arrowhead of Minnesota. The wet weather has exacerbated the flooding situation along the Upper Mississippi River. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 300 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region, resulting in moisture excesses of 50 to 150 mm (See the National Hydrologic Information Center for details) [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

2. Southern and Eastern United States:

UNUSUALLY DRY WEATHER RETURNS
Light rain showers delivered 10 to 50 mm of rain to central Arkansas, eastern North Carolina, and southeastern Florida while little or no precipitation was observed elsewhere. Precipitation totals for the period of March 4 through April 28 generally ranged from 50 to 200 mm, yielding precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 150 mm. The lack of rainfall raised concerns for agriculture, especially in the Southeast (See the United States Drought Monitor for details) [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

3. South-Central Europe:

SUBNORMAL TEMPERATURES PREVAIL
Weekly departures ranged from -2°C to -6°C across most of northern Italy, the Alps, and southern Germany, with subfreezing lows reported at most locations. The mercury, however, managed to climb above 20°C across the region, except at the higher elevations [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

4. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

STILL VERY DRY
Little or no rain was reported across the region again last week. Since early March, fewer than 100 mm of rain has fallen on the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, allowing short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm to accumulate across the region [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

5. Central Siberia:

COLD CONDITIONS REMAIN ENTRENCHED
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C below normal across central Siberia from 80°E to 120°E and from 60°N to 75°N. Lows ranged from -17°C to -29°C. The mercury failed to reach the freezing mark across the northern half of the region [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

6. East-Central Asia:

DRYNESS SPREADS NORTHEASTWARD
Little or no rain fell on east-central China, the Korean Peninsula, and most of Japan. Light to moderate showers (10 to 100 mm) were limited to eastern Hubei, southern Anhui, and southern Jiangsu provinces in eastern China and to the extreme southern and western portions of Kyushu Island of Japan. Short-term precipitation shortfalls ranged from 100 to 300 mm in Japan, 50 to 200 mm on the Korean Peninsula, and 50 to 180 mm in China [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

7. Southeastern Asia:

DRY ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Scattered showers dropped 25 to 100 mm of rain on parts of eastern Thailand and extreme northern Vietnam, but most of the Indochinese Peninsula received little or none for the second consecutive week. Precipitation totals for the past 4 weeks were generally in the lowest 10% of the climatological distribution [DRY - Up to 5 weeks].