Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for August 3, 2002

1. Central United States:

MOISTURE SHORTAGES CONTINUE
Scattered showers brought  up to 50 mm to parts of the Middle Missouri Valley, but much of the central Great Plains received fewer than 10 mm. Less than 100 mm of rain has fallen during the last 8 weeks, producing moisture deficits up to 185 mm. See the United States Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

2. Northeastern United States:

ABNORMALLY WARM WEATHER SHIFTS TO THE EAST
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal across much of the northeastern United States, with highs reaching into the upper thirties (°C) [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

3. Eastern United States:

RAINS BRING MORE RELIEF
Scattered showers and thundershowers dropped 25 to 100 mm of rain on the northeastern quarter of the Nation.  Much of the area, however, received less than 10 mm. During the last 13 weeks, moisture shortages of 50 to 130 mm have prevailed. See the United States Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Up to 18 weeks].

4. Western Russia:

WARM ANOMALY REMAINS
Weekly temperature departures of +2°C to +7°C again prevailed over western Russia as the mercury climbed into the thirties (°C) at many locations [WARM - Up to 18 weeks].

5. Western Africa:

DRYNESS RETURNS
Little or no rain again fell in northern Senegal and southern Mauritania as dry conditions evolved.  During the last 8 weeks, fewer than 40 mm of rain fell, yielding deficits of around 100 mm [DRY - 6 weeks].

6. South-Central Siberia:

WARMTH DIMINISHES
Temperatures remained 2°C to 5°C above normal southeast of Lake Baykal but returned to near normal elsewhere in the region.  Maximum temperatures generally ranged from 25°C to  35°C [WARM - Ending at 7 weeks].

7. India:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS IN PARTS OF REGION
Scattered heavy rains (100 to 150 mm) drenched Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, northern Karnataka, and northern Andhra Pradesh.  Despite the heavy rains, 8-week moisture shortages of 70 to 300 mm persisted in some areas [DRY - 5 weeks].

8. Central China:

SHOWERS  BRING RELIEF
Moderate to very heavy rains (25 to 180 mm) fell over parts of northern Sichuan in central China, easing the unusually dry conditions. Dryness persisted, however, over the rest of the affected area. During the last 2 months, fewer than 200 mm fell in much of the region as moisture deficits up to 280 mm have accumulated  [DRY - 5 weeks].

9. Southeastern China:

WETNESS CONTINUES
Moderate to heavy rains (25 to 100 mm) kept northern Guangxi northeastward to western Jiangxi wet while favorably dry weather prevailed across the remainder of the region. Between 350 and 950 mm of precipitation has accumulated in the past 8 weeks over most of the area, resulting in moisture excesses of 100 to 540 mm [WET - 7 weeks].

10. Eastern Australia:

DRY CONDITIONS PERSIST
Scattered rain showers (up to 50 mm) eased dry conditions on the coasts of southeastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, and eastern Victoria. Fewer than 70 mm of rain, however, has accumulated during the past 8 weeks, yielding precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 160 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].