Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for May 5, 2001

1. Central United States:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS PERSIST
Torrential rains (100 to 200 mm) drenched parts of eastern Nebraska, north-central Kansas, and central Iowa while weekly totals of 50 to 100 mm dominated the Great Plains from eastern Colorado northeastward to northern Iowa and extreme southeastern Minnesota. Moderate precipitation (25 to 50 mm) occurred elsewhere. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 400 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region, resulting in short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 170 mm (see the National Hydrologic Information Center Flood Summaries for more details) [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

2. Eastern and Southern United States:

STILL ABNORMALLY DRY
Little or no rain fell on the United States east of the Mississippi River this past week as very dry weather continued to dominate the region. Fewer than 200 mm of precipitation has fallen on the East and the South during the last 8 weeks, engendering short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm ( see the United States Drought Monitor for more information) [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

3. Central and Southern South America:

UNUSUALLY COLD WEATHER DOMINATES SOUTH AMERICA
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 6°C below normal across South America from southern Bolivia to central Argentina, with weekly departures approaching -8°C at scattered locations in southern Bolivia and northern Argentina. Subfreezing temperatures were reported as far north as southern Cordoba while the mercury dropped below 10°C across all of Uruguay and Argentina. Highs generally remained below 30°C across the region [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

4. East-Central South America:

MORE HEAVY RAINS
After a respite during early and middle April, torrential rains returned to southern Brazil and to northern and eastern Uruguay during the past 2 weeks, with weekly totals of 100 to 200 mm reported at many locations. Scattered heavy rains (100 to 200 mm) also soaked parts of northwestern Cordoba province of Argentina while 25 to 100 mm dampened the remainder of the region. Between March 11 and May 5, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and extreme southern Brazil received 100 to 600 mm of rain, allowing moisture surpluses of 50 to 400 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

5. Eastern Europe:

WARM ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C dominated eastern Europe from eastern Poland and western Ukraine eastward to the Urals while temperatures averaged 6°C to 9°C above normal across northern European Russia. Subfreezing lows were restricted to northeastern European Russia while highs ranged from 20°C to 29°C at most locations [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].

6. Southern Africa:

ABNORMALLY WET WEATHER RETURNS
Between 50 and 100 mm of rain soaked north-central South Africa while 25 to 50 mm fell on the outer remainder of northern South Africa. Meanwhile, 25 to 50 mm, with locally heavier amounts of up to 200 mm, dampened southern Botswana. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 300 mm of rain has fallen on the region, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 220 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

7. Central Siberia:

COLD POCKETS REMAIN
Temperatures were 2°C to 5°C below normal in central Siberia, with lows plummeting below -20°C across the entire region. The mercury managed to climb above 0°C at most locations [COLD - Up to 5 weeks].

8. East-Central Asia:

DRYNESS CONTINUES NORTHWARD SHIFT
Little or no rain fell on Hokkaido and northern Honshu Islands of Japan and on most of the Korean Peninsula; however, variable moderate to heavy rains (25 to 200 mm) brought relief to the Japanese islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, and southern Honshu, and to extreme southern South Korea. Short-term moisture deficits generally ranged from 50 to 200 mm, with locally higher precipitation shortfalls of 200 to 300 mm [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].