National Climatic Data Center, 13 December 2004

Regional Overview

The November precipitation pattern at the primary stations in Alaska was mixed. In Hawaii, most of the primary stations in the southern islands were drier than normal, while the northern islands were mostly wetter than normal. The pattern in Puerto Rico was drier than normal in the southwest and wetter than normal in the northeast, based on National Weather Service radar estimates of precipitation and on Cooperative station precipitation reports for the last 4 weeks and 8 weeks. November streamflow averaged near normal for Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Dryness was evident at the 2 month to 3 month timescales across parts of Florida, the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, southern Great Lakes, and northern New England.

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Long-term moisture deficits persisted in many areas. Much of the central and northern Rockies were dry at the 9 to 24 month timescales. Many Alaska stations were drier than normal at the 12 month timescale. Severe moisture deficits were evident at the 36 to 60 month timescales across much of the West into the northern High Plains and central Plains. These long-term hydrological drought conditions are reflected in the November 30 United States Drought Monitor map.

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Some regional highlights:

• End-of-month and monthly averaged soil moisture conditions were drier than normal across parts of Wyoming and Montana, the Pacific Northwest, eastern Alaska, and near the surface and at depth from the central Plains to the Great Lakes, based on model computations (CPC-1, CPC-2, MRCC).
• Streamflow levels were below seasonal norms across parts of the West, central Plains, and Great Lakes, both as computed by models and based on USGS observations.
• Reservoir levels in most of the western states continued well below seasonal normals. Although long-term (out to 5-years) moisture conditions remained dry across much of the West, drought conditions have improved in recent months. The percent area of the western U.S. (Rockies westward) experiencing moderate to extreme drought (as defined by the Palmer Drought Index) decreased to about 15%.

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Additional Contacts:

Colorado - Delaware - Delaware River Basin (DE-NJ-NY-PA) - Florida Panhandle - Georgia - Idaho - Kentucky - Maine - Maryland - Missouri-1 - Missouri-2 - Montana - New Jersey-1 - New Jersey-2 - New Jersey-3 - New Mexico - Oklahoma-1 - Oklahoma-2 - Oklahoma-3 - Oregon - Pennsylvania-1 - Pennsylvania-2 - South Carolina - Texas - Vermont - Virginia - 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
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
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