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| Based upon preliminary data, December 2000 was the third coldest such month since 1895 for the Central region. Eight of the last eleven Decembers have been above to much above the long term mean. |  larger image |
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It was the twelfth warmest December on record for the West region. Four of the last six such months have been above the long-term mean. |
| December 2000 was the fifth driest such month since 1895 for the West region. The last four, and 13 of the last 17, such months have been below to much below the long-term mean. |  larger image |
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Preliminary data indicate that precipitation for the growing season-to-date, October-December 2000, averaged above the long-term mean as the eighth wettest such period on record for the Primary Hard Red Winter Wheat Belt. The wettest such three-month period was just two years ago. |
November-December 2000 Statewide Ranks
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The two-month period, November-December 2000, was not only the coldest such period on record for the contiguous U.S., it was the coldest such period on record for Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and the second coldest such period since 1895 for Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Nineteen other states ranked within the top ten cold portion of the distribution.
A total of 43 states ranked within the cold third portion of the distribution. No state ranked within the warm third portion of the historical distribution for November-December 2000. |
| It was the sixth wettest November-December on record for North Dakota, the seventh wettest for Texas and the ninth wettest such period since 1895 for Louisiana. Eleven other states ranked within the wet third portion of the distribution.
It was the second driest November-December on record for Washington, third driest for California, fifth driest for Oregon and the tenth driest such two-month period since 1895 for West Virginia. Nine other states ranked within the dry third portion portion of the distribution. |
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Damage due to the drought has been summarized by NOAA and the Office of Global Programs in the Climatological Impacts section of the Climate Information Project. Crop impact information can be found at the USDA NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) and Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin pages. Drought statements by local National Weather Service Offices can be found at the NWS Hydrologic Information Center. Drought threat assessments and other information can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center.
December Precipitation and Temperature Ranks, Extremes and Normals
Table 1 shows precipitation and temperature ranks for each of the 9 regions and the nation for December 2000, the two-month period of November-December 2000, the six months of July-December 2000, and the past 12 months, January-December 2000.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE RANKS, BASED
ON THE PERIOD 1895-2000. 1 = DRIEST/COLDEST,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR DECEMBER 2000,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR NOV-DEC 2000,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR JUL-DEC 2000,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR JAN-DEC 2000.
DEC NOV-DEC JUL-DEC JAN-DEC
REGION 2000 2000 2000 2000
------ ---- --------- --------- ---------
PRECIPITATION:
NORTHEAST 69 46 39 84
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 64 82 56 65
CENTRAL 36 42 34 42
SOUTHEAST 20 48 14 6
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 58 84 62 47
SOUTH 36 97 26 38
SOUTHWEST 22 43 55 42
NORTHWEST 8 4 10 23
WEST 5 4 16 48
NATIONAL 14 42 18 24
TEMPERATURE:
NORTHEAST 16 19 8 58
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 3 7 20 88
CENTRAL 3 2 7 63
SOUTHEAST 5 8 9 41
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 13 7 33 91
SOUTH 6 1 30 91
SOUTHWEST 73 18 72 105
NORTHWEST 34 12 31 82
WEST 95 46 64 101
NATIONAL 7 1 21 94
*National Temperature Rank Based on a combination
of USHCN and divisional data.
It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks and values in Tables 1 through 3 are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.
Table 2 shows historical extremes for December, the 1961-1990 normal, and the December 2000 value for each of the 9 regions and the contiguous U.S. for precipitation and temperature. It should be noted that the 2000 values will change when the final data are processed.
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
DRIEST WETTEST NORMAL 2000
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR PCPN PCPN
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 0.98 1955 6.74 1973 3.45 3.49
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 0.37 1943 2.62 1982 1.44 1.34
CENTRAL 0.90 1958 7.58 1990 3.44 2.49
SOUTHEAST 1.18 1955 7.05 1953 3.87 2.48
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 0.19 1986 1.20 1917 0.65 0.61
SOUTH 0.64 1917 5.51 1911 2.49 2.06
SOUTHWEST 0.11 1929 2.29 1965 0.96 0.47
NORTHWEST 1.17 1976 8.42 1996 4.03 1.92
WEST 0.09 1989 7.05 1955 2.33 0.58
NATIONAL 1.22 1958 3.60 1982 2.30 1.58*
* PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL + OR - 0.09 INCHES
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
COLDEST WARMEST NORMAL 2000
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR TEMP TEMP
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 13.3 1989 34.5 1923 26.6 22.2
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 6.9 1983 29.0 1923 18.6 9.7
CENTRAL 21.9 1989 42.0 1923 33.0 23.3
SOUTHEAST 39.3 1989 55.9 1931 47.3 41.2
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 4.3 1983 30.0 1939 19.4 14.9
SOUTH 33.6 1983 51.0 1933 43.5 37.2
SOUTHWEST 24.8 1909 39.9 1980 32.6 34.3
NORTHWEST 21.9 1990 37.9 1917 29.4 29.3
WEST 33.0 1990 45.6 1929 38.7 42.2
NATIONAL 25.8 1983 38.5 1939 33.3 28.9
*National Temperature Rank Based on a combination
of USHCN and divisional data.
Water Year River Basin Statistics, October-November 2000
Table 3 shows statistics for selected river basins: Precipitation rankings are for October-December 2000, where 1 = driest, and 106 = wettest, based on the period 1895 to 2000. Also shown is the areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) drought, and areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) wet conditions, as of November 2000.
PRECIPITATION % AREA % AREA
RIVER BASIN RANK DRY WET
----------- ------------- ------ ------
MISSOURI BASIN 87 14.0% 9.6%
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BASIN 9 15.5% 0.0%
CALIFORNIA RIVER BASIN 13 37.6% 0.0%
GREAT BASIN 71 0.0% 0.0%
UPPER COLORADO BASIN 71 0.0% 0.0%
LOWER COLORADO BASIN 92 10.4% 0.0%
RIO GRANDE BASIN 101 0.0% 0.0%
ARKANSAS-WHITE-RED BASIN 99 0.0% 0.0%
TEXAS GULF COAST BASIN 93 0.0% 0.0%
SOURIS-RED-RAINY BASIN 100 0.0% 88.6%
UPPER MISSISSIPPI BASIN 53 0.0% 1.3%
LOWER MISSISSIPPI BASIN 71 11.2% 0.0%
GREAT LAKES BASIN 34 16.2% 15.0%
OHIO RIVER BASIN 20 0.4% 7.6%
TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN 14 0.0% 0.0%
NEW ENGLAND BASIN 56 0.0% 7.7%
MID-ATLANTIC BASIN 12 3.0% 0.0%
SOUTH ATLANTIC-GULF BASIN 21 20.6% 0.0%
The river basin regions are defined by the U.S. Water Resources Council.
For more information, refer to ...References:Thomas R. Karl and Albert J. Koscielny, 1982: "Drought in the United States: 1895-1981." Journal of Climatology, vol. 2, pp. 313-329. Thomas R. Karl and Walter James Koss, 1984: "Regional and National Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature Weighted by Area, 1895-1983." Historical Climatology Series 4-3, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 38 pp. NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800. Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center. NOAA works closely with the academic and scientific communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available from the Climate Prediction Center.
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For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:
Climate Services DivisionFor further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.info@noaa.gov
William Brown
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: william.brown@noaa.gov
-or-
Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: jay.lawrimore@noaa.gov
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