Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. North-Central United States:

DRY WEATHER DOMINATES Little or no rain fell on the Rockies and High Plains this past week, except for 25 to 50 mm in parts of northeastern Colorado and southwestern Nebraska. Precipitation shortfalls of up to 100 mm accumulated during the last 8 weeks (See the United States Drought Monitor for more details) [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

2. Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PREVAIL Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal across the desert Southwest and the Intermountain Region. Highs of 40°C to 43°C dominated northwestern Mexico, western Texas, and the southern portions of Arizona and California while readings in the thirties (°C) covered the remainder of the region. Lows were generally in the teens (°C) [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].

3. East-Central United States:

MOISTURE SURPLUSES PERSIST Between 25 an 50 mm of rain fell on eastern Wisconsin, western and southern Michigan, northern and central Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania while 50 to 100 mm soaked eastern Michigan. Meanwhile, fewer than 25 mm of rain fell on most of Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, and western Wisconsin. Since April 8, between 170 and 400 mm of rain has fallen on the region, allowing short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 220 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

4. Central and Eastern United States:

MORE UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C dominated the central and eastern United States from Kansas and Oklahoma eastward to the middle Atlantic Seaboard. Subfreezing lows reached as far south as northern Pennsylvania while the mercury dipped to 10°C as far south as Washington, DC (38°N). Highs exceeding 30°C prevailed from Arkansas and the Carolinas southward to the Gulf Coast while readings were in the twenties (°C) elsewhere [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

5. Southeastern United States:

SHORT-TERM DRYNESS DIMINISHES Moderate rains (50 to 100 mm) soaked the Southeast from southern Arkansas eastward through South Carolina, with heavier amounts (100 to 200 mm) reported in northern Georgia and northeastern Alabama. Light to moderate rains (25 to 50 mm) also fell on the eastern coast of Florida, but fewer than 25 mm were reported elsewhere. Short-term moisture deficits ranged from 50 to 200 mm; however, longer term dryness continued to dominate the region (See the United States Drought Monitor for more complete information) [DRY - Ending at 13 weeks].

6. Northeastern Europe:

COLD WEATHER PERSISTS Cold weather continued across northeastern Europe from eastern Sweden southeastward to southeastern European Russia. Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C below normal, with the mercury dropping below freezing at scattered locations across the region [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

7. Central and Western Europe:

DRYNESS CONTINUES IN MUCH OF THE REGION Moderate rains of 25 to 40 mm dampened parts of Austria and Yugoslavia while heavier amounts of up to 150 mm doused parts of Croatia and Slovenia. Little or no rain, however, fell over the remainder of the region from France and northern Spain eastward to western Romania and northern Yugoslavia. Since April 8th, less than 100 mm of rain has fallen (except in the higher elevations) in much of the region, and moisture deficits of 50 to 180 mm have accumulated [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

8. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY DEVELOPS Weekly departures of +4°C to +10°C covered an area from Morocco and the Canary Islands northeastward across southern France, Switzerland, and northern Italy. Temperatures climbed to as high as 35°C at Orange, France (44°N) [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

9. Central Asia:

WARMTH REMAINS Anomalous high temperatures (weekly departures of +4°C to +12°C) continued over a large region from eastern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan northeastward across central Siberia. The mercury reached 34°C as far north as Culym, Russia (55°N) [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

10. Eastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japanese Archipelago:

MORE HOT WEATHER Temperatures again averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal for the week from Liaoning, Hubei, and Shandong Provinces of eastern China eastward across Japan. Readings soared to 35°C as far north as Wohutun, China (44°N) [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].

11. East-Central Asia:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS IN PARTS OF REGION Moderate rains (15 to 35) mm brought relief to dryness across southern and western Japan while heavier amounts (up to 100 mm) eased dryness in China from southeastern Sichuan and northern Guizhou Provinces eastward to Zhejiang. Little or no rain, however, fell on the remainder of the region. During the last 8 weeks, moisture deficits of 50 to 160 mm have accumulated in most of the region [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

12. Eastern Australia:

ABNORMALLY DRY WEATHER CONTINUES Little or no rain fell on Queensland and the interior portions of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania as very dry conditions dominated central and eastern Australia. Because of relatively low normals, 8-week precipitation deficits were generally less than 100 mm, except along the Queensland Coast where shortfalls ranged from 100 to 200 mm [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

13. Central and Eastern Australia:

STILL UNUSUALLY COOL Temperatures were 2°C to 3°C below normal across Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales. Subfreezing lows were limited to the higher elevations of the Great Dividing Range, but the mercury approached 3°C as far north as Camooweal (20°S). Lows fell below 20°C across the entire region, except along the extreme northern coastline. The mercury failed to reach 20°C in Tasmania, Victoria, and the central and southern portions of New South Wales, and highs of 30°C or more were restricted to the northern half of the Northern Territory and northwestern Queensland [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].