Climate of 2004 - January U.S. Regional Drought Watch National Climatic Data Center, 13 February 2004

Regional Overview

January was drier than normal across a significant portion of the western and Great Plains drought areas. The month was also dry from New England down much of the eastern seaboard. The primary stations in Alaska were predominantly dry, while those in Hawaii were predominantly wetter than normal. The rainfall pattern in Puerto Rico was mixed during the last 4 weeks to 8 weeks, with generally drier than normal conditions in the north and east. larger image January marked the fourth consecutive month with below-normal precipitation regionwide across the Southeast, where November 2003-January 2004 precipitation averaged less than 50 percent of normal in places and depleted soil moisture was indicated. This is in sharp contrast to the unusually wet conditions of the previous eight months. The unusual January dryness in the Northeast contrasts markedly with extreme wetness in 2003. In spite of the November-December wetness, long-term moisture deficits (last 9 to 24 to 60 months) persisted across most of the West. Much of the Great Plains has suffered from moisture deficits in the 6-month time frame, while parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest have had significant moisture deficits back 12 to 24 months. In the central Plains, significant deficits even show up at 60 months. larger image Some regional highlights: Winter storms earlier in the season brought an average to above-average snowpack and water year-to-date precipitation to much of the West, especially the coastal states. Snowfall relative to normal diminished somewhat during January compared to earlier months in the season, but above-average seasonal snowfall was evident in many reports from both valley stations and high altitude SNOTEL stations. However, due to the effects of the long-term drought, soil moisture conditions remained dry in many areas and the reservoirs in most of the western states were still low or depleted. The percent area of the western U.S. (Rockies westward) experiencing moderate to extreme drought (as defined by the Palmer Drought Index) decreased during January to about 56%. While this is not near record historical levels, it is still comparable to the major droughts of the 20th Century. larger image

These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators: 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, National Weather Service model calculations of soil moisture, runoff, evaporation, Midwest Regional Climate Center model calculations of soil moisture, 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. A detailed review of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states: Northwest region West region Southwest region Arizona California Colorado Idaho Montana Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Wyoming West North Central region South region Iowa Kansas Minnesota Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wisconsin Northeast region Southeast region Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maine Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina Rhode Island South Carolina Vermont Virginia larger image larger image larger image

Additional Contacts:

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. Additional drought information can be found at the National Drought Mitigation Center, the USDA's National Agricultural Library, the interim National Drought Council, and the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program. The following states have set up web pages detailing current drought conditions and/or their plans to handle drought emergencies: Colorado - Delaware - Delaware River Basin (DE-NJ-NY-PA) - Florida Panhandle - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho - Kentucky - Maine - Maryland - Missouri-1 - Missouri-2 - Montana-1 - Montana-2 - Nebraska - New Jersey-1 - New Jersey-2 - New Jersey-3 - New Mexico - North Carolina - Oklahoma-1 - Oklahoma-2 - Oklahoma-3 - Oregon - Pennsylvania-1 - Pennsylvania-2 - Pennsylvania-3 - South Carolina - Texas - Vermont - Virginia - Washington - Wyoming 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.

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
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fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.info@noaa.gov

Richard Heim
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Richard.Heim@noaa.gov

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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