Graphic showing NOAA logo NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2006 / May / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help

Climate of 2006 - May
U.S. Regional Drought Watch


National Climatic Data Center, 15 June 2006

Global Analysis / Global Hazards / United States / U.S. Drought / National Drought Overview / Extremes
Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data.
Regional Drought Overview / Additional Contacts / Questions


Top of Page Regional Overview
Dryness was observed in May over much of the country. The Southwest, western Texas, western High Plains and the south Atlantic states have experienced very dry conditions for the last several months. The most severe conditions in May were in the Desert Southwest to the northern Plains, and the Big Bend region of Texas. About 11 percent of the contiguous U.S. was very dry (i.e., precipitation in the bottom 10th percentile of the historical record).

Map showing Palmer Z Index

Coupled with the very dry conditions were high temperatures in the Southwest and Plains. The combination of high temperatures and very little precipitation led to extreme drought as defined by the Palmer Z Index.

Dryness persisted in the mid-Atlantic States and southern Appalachians, central Florida and along the Louisiana coast. Evaporation in these areas was high, and streamflow was low.

Map showing 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index


The May precipitation pattern at the primary stations in Alaska was below normal throughout most of the state. However, the southeastern coastal region was wetter than normal. Across Hawaii, the precipitation pattern was wet in the Southeast and progressively drier towards the Northwest. In Puerto Rico, the month was predominantly dry in the east and wet along the northwest coast, based on National Weather Service radar estimates of precipitation.

The wheat harvest in Oklahoma is expected to be the worst in 50 years due to drought, wildfires, high winds, hail storms, insects and frost damage (AP, 5/22). On May 9, the USDA authorized a federal drought disaster declaration in all but one of the counties in Arizona.

Some regional highlights:
These overall conditions are evident in the following indicators:
A detailed review of drought and moisture conditions is available for all contiguous U.S. states and the nine climatological regions:
REGIONS:
Northwest West North Central East North Central
Northeast Central Southeast
South Southwest West
Map showing the nine U.S. standard regions
STATES:
Alabama Arizona Arkansas
California Colorado Connecticut
Delaware Florida Georgia
Idaho Illinois Indiana
Iowa Kansas Kentucky
Louisiana Maine Maryland
Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota
Mississippi Missouri Montana
Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey New Mexico New York
North Carolina North Dakota Ohio
Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania
Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota
Tennessee Texas* Utah
Vermont Virginia Washington
West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
* State page has supplemental information.
PRE-INSTRUMENTAL PERSPECTIVE:
Paleoclimatic tree-ring reconstruction for Texas Division 9 for 1652-2006


Top of Page Additional Contacts:
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:

Arkansas - Colorado - Delaware - Delaware River Basin (DE-NJ-NY-PA) - Florida Panhandle - Georgia - Idaho - Kentucky - Maine - Maryland - Missouri - Montana - New Jersey-1 - New Jersey-2 - New Mexico - Oklahoma-1 - Oklahoma-2 - Pennsylvania-1 - Pennsylvania-2 - South Carolina - Texas - Vermont - Virginia

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:
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.


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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 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

  • For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:

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

    -or-

    Ned Guttman
    NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
    151 Patton Avenue
    Asheville, NC 28801-5001
    fax: 828-271-4328
    email: Ned.Guttman@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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Graphic showing NOAA logo NCDC / Climate Mon. / Climate-2006 / May / U.S. Drought / Regional / Help