Drought has plagued the South region, but heavy – and in some instances, extremely heavy – rainfalls,) brought much needed relief as most areas saw vast improvements or, at the very least, no degradation. Oklahoma saw drought conditions fade as heavy rains fell, bringing normal conditions back to a large swath of the state stretching from the northwest to the southeast. Conditions also improved in northern and western Texas, while dryness spread in southeastern Texas.
Looking Ahead: Over the next week, beginning Tuesday Aug. 28, up to 2 inches of rain is forecast for western Colorado and western New Mexico, where extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4) drought conditions prevail. No rain to less than half an inch are forecast for most of the remainder of the West. Between 0.1 and 2 inches are forecast for most of the rest of the U.S. at this time.
Looking further ahead at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 6-10 day Outlook (Aug. 26-30), the probability of dry conditions are highest in the Plains, with a bullseye over western Oklahoma, while wet conditions may occur along the northern tier of the U.S., the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. During this period, below-average temperatures are expected in the West while above-average temperatures are forecast for the eastern two-thirds of the country, particularly stretching from the Midwest to the Northeast.
Looking two weeks out (Aug. 28 – Sept. 3), above-average temperatures are expected across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and stretching across the southwestern U.S./Mexico border. Below-average temperatures are expected over most of the West. The probability of above-average precipitation is highest over the North and Northwest with the highest probability of dryness expected over western Oklahoma.
Read more at httpUS Drought Monitor and Summary, Aug. 24, 2018 ://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
