D3 conditions also expanded into southwestern Wyoming and western Kansas. The Southwest is dry at all time scales except 9 months.
FWA Monthly As summarized by the Midwest Regional Climate Center, June temperatures were slightly above normal for most of the Midwest while June precipitation was above normal for the upper Midwest but well below normal for the southern two-thirds of the region.
As noted by the Southeast Regional Climate Center, for the first time since October, mean temperatures in June were below average across most of the Southeast region. With all six states receiving less than normal precipitation in June, drought conditions throughout the Southern region deteriorated. Surface Observations Satellite, Climate The overall spatial pattern of Palmer Z Index drought in June 1988 matches in some areas (Midwest, parts of the Plains and Rockies), but is significantly different in other areas (Southwest, Northeast, Southeast). It was during this time that much of Colorado had multiple days at or above 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C). The Palmer Drought Index percent area statistic was about 66 percent, reflecting a remarkable rise over the last six months. AE is how much water actually is evapotranspired and is limited by the amount of water that is available.
Pacific Islands: According to reports from National Weather Service offices, the Pacific ENSO Applications Climate Center (PEAC), and partners, conditions varied across the Pacific Islands. However, the looming hot and dry summer conditions have begun to worry farmers and ranchers. This rainfall combined with below normal temperatures lead to notable improvements in drought conditions from September into October. Drought results from an imbalance between these two components. This deluge was enough to neutralize long-term deficits that had built up over the previous 24 months. The Z Index and PHDI maps in combination show that precipitation brought relief to parts of the Southeast drought areas, but for much of the rest of the country — drier-than-normal weather persisted over the existing drought areas and wetter-than-normal weather continued over the moist Pacific Northwest. In many respects, June was a repeat of May.
Further west, drought conditions continued to worsen in Hawaii, with leeward locations most affected. The SPI maps here show the spatial extent of anomalously wet and dry areas at time scales ranging from 1 month to 24 months. Rainfall events were far and few between in November and precipitation for the month was well below normal. (, A file containing the national monthly percent area severely dry and wet from 1900 to present is available for the, Historical temperature, precipitation, and Palmer drought data from 1895 to present for climate divisions, states, and regions in the contiguous U.S. are available at the, a large area of moderate (D1) to exceptional (D4) drought in the, pockets of moderate to severe drought lingering in the, moderate to extreme drought across much of the, NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) modeled runoff, VIC (University of Washington Variable Infiltration Capacity macroscale hydrologic model), NLDAS (North American Land Data Assimilation System) modeled streamflow, NLDAS modeled soil moisture percentiles for the, percent of normal precipitation and precipitation percentiles (, percent of average maps for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the. On other Pacific Islands (maps — Micronesia, Marshall Islands, basinwide), June was drier than normal for Majuro, but near to above normal for the rest of the stations.
Spring Frost Climatology Outdoor Event Watcher With the Pacific storm track near the Canadian border, subtropical high pressure dominating the weather, and a weak start to the summer monsoon, above-normal rain fell in the Pacific Northwest but much of the western U.S. was left with little significant precipitation this month. Yet, in its initial stages, the 2012 drought was viewed favorably by row-crop producers across the Plains and Midwest, as open field conditions promoted a torrid planting pace. Utah, Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming were among the most affected by large fires ignited and record temperatures. Wyoming had the driest June in the 1895-2012 record, Colorado and Utah ranked second driest, and Indiana third driest.
Social Media Feeds As explained by the Southern Regional Climate Center, for the most part, June was a relatively average month where temperatures are concerned. As explained by the High Plains Regional Climate Center, there were major changes to the USDM this month as hot and dry conditions prevailed over the majority of the region. These areas have had the least precipitation and smallest percent of normal precipitation during March-June 2012. In the Palmer model, if the amount of precipitation (P) during the month is greater than PE for the month, then the leftover P soaks into the ground to recharge soil moisture, and any left over after that runs off as streamflow.
A strong high pressure system (High, or upper-level ridge) held sway over much of the U.S. for most of the month. Please select one of the following: Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Drought Focal Point, Hazards The Palmer model uses Thornthwaite's equations to estimate PE from temperature. NOAA Weather Radio In 2012, about 56 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate to extreme drought at the end of June.
Moderate drought (D1) conditions were expanded during the month to include a larger area around the Chesapeake Bay in eastern Maryland.
Tropical Storm Debby dumped widespread 10-plus inch rainfall over Florida in June, Beach If P is less than PE, then moisture has to be drawn out of the soil to meet the PE demand. June 2012 was another warmer- and drier-than-average month (14th warmest and tenth driest June on record, based on data back to 1895) when weather conditions are averaged across the country. National Weather Service
The Palmer Drought Index, whose data base goes back 112 years, is relied upon for drought comparisons before 2000. The expansion of the D2-D4 range (severe to exceptional drought conditions) was quite impressive as it jumped from 8 percent coverage at the end of May to 47 percent coverage at the end of June. The persistent warmth and dryness of the last couple years have been so severe that the nationally-integrated Palmer Z Index has been consistently negative (water demand outstripping water supply) for the last 13 consecutive months. Midwest areas in drought quadrupled during the month and areas in Severe Drought increased from less than 2 percent to more than 15 percent of the region. In Louisiana, northern parishes are now experiencing moderate (D1) drought as well. Summary: Most locations across the area ended the winter season of 2011-2012 with near normal precipitation and below normal snowfall.This led to below normal snowmelt which usually adds a fair amount of moisture to the soil prior to the growing season.March was characterized by much above normal temperatures (record-breaking warmth, in fact) which led to above normal evapotranspiration … This is also the case for eastern Tennessee and much of central and eastern Oklahoma. Historical analogs to the current drought can be determined by comparing the spatial pattern and intensity of various climate indicators using statistical tools such as the correlation coefficient and mean absolute difference.
Drier-than-normal weather has dominated from the Southwest and intermountain basin to the Central and Southern Rockies for the water year to date (October-present), as reflected in low elevation as well as high elevation (SNOTEL) precipitation, especially for the southern half of the West. Topsoil has dried out and crops, pastures, and rangeland have deteriorated at a rate rarely seen in the last 18 years, yet drought barely registers for the region on the longer-term PDSI because the previous several years have been very wet (in fact, 2008, 2010, and 2011 all rank in the top ten wettest category for April-June). The primary corn and soybean agricultural belt has been especially hard hit by drought the last three months. By the end of the month, the core drought areas in the U.S. included: The Palmer drought indices measure the balance between moisture demand (evapotranspiration driven by temperature) and moisture supply (precipitation). The Palmer Z Index depicts moisture conditions for the current month, while the Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) depict the current month's cumulative moisture conditions integrated over the last several months. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Reservoir storage was below average, statewide, in many southern states but near to above average to the north. Probabilistic Snowfall Moist conditions dominate at almost all time scales in the Pacific Northwest, Upper Mississippi Valley, and northern New England. Hot, dry, windy weather contributed to many wildfires across the West. US Dept of Commerce The hardest-hit areas (as measured by pasture, soil moisture impacts) are the Southern to Central Rockies, Central Plains, and Ohio Valley.