• Above-normal precipitation fell across many western U.S. drought areas during March 2003, while others in the Great Plains and Midwest received below-normal precipitation.
• March was dry from the central Appalachians to the southern Plains and over parts of California and Nevada
• Much of the Great Lakes to northern Plains region had a fifth consecutive dry month.
• Most of the primary stations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico had drier than normal conditions during March

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• Long-term drought continued in a band from the southern Great Lakes to the central Plains and across much of the West

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A percent of normal precipitation map for March, created by the NOAA Regional Climate Centers (HPRCC) from Cooperative Network station data, shows greater detail of the spatial variability of the moisture anomalies.

The long-term dryness is also evident in the pattern of snowfall anomalies. Season-to-date (July 1, 2002 - April 9, 2003) snowfall has totaled below the long-term average across much of the Far West, central and northern Great Plains, and Great Lakes regions.

• Palmer Drought Indices,
• Standardized Precipitation Index,
• airport station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• statewide precipitation rank maps,
• Cooperative station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• satellite-based observations of surface moisture,
• satellite-based observations of vegetative health,
• National Weather Service model calculations of
  • soil moisture,
  • runoff,
  • evaporation,
• percent of average maps for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the Western Regional Climate Center
  • hydrologic year precipitation,
  • snow water equivalent of snowpack,
• snow course snowpack observations in the western mountains provided by the USDA NRCS
• streamflow maps maintained by the USGS.

• Northwest region
• West region
• Southwest region
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Utah
• Wyoming

• East North Central region
• West North Central region
• Central region
• South region
• Arkansas
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Ohio
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Wisconsin

• Maine
• West Virginia

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A major winter storm brought near-record rain and snow to a large part of Colorado during the month, resulting in the ninth wettest March, statewide, in the 109-year record. However, long-term moisture deficits were so great that the state still ranked as 11th driest for April 2002-March 2003.

The dry conditions raised concerns about possible low levels for the Great Lakes later this summer. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicted that, by July, all of the lakes are expected to be at or below their levels of 2001, which were the lowest since the record lows in 1964 (U.S. Water News Online).

A detailed review of drought conditions is available for several eastern states and regions.

For additional information on current and past wildfire seasons please see the National Interagency Fire Center web site or the U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation web site.

NCDC's Drought Recovery Page shows the precipitation required to end or ameliorate droughts and the probability of receiving the required precipitation.

Additional climate monitoring graphics can be found at the Climate Prediction Center's monitoring pages:

• Weekly, Monthly, 3-Month, 12-Month Monitoring
• El Nino, Drought, Snow Cover, and Degree Day Monitoring
• Weekly Drought Monitoring
• Soil Moisture Monitoring

Precipitation and modeled soil moisture anomaly maps for the Midwest U.S. can be found at the Midwest Regional Climate Center's monitoring page.

Drought conditions on the Canadian prairies can be found at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Drought Watch page.