US Drought Monitor and Summary, Jan. 11, 2018

South Climate Area: At the end of the current U.S. Drought Monitor period, the area from east Texas into southern Louisiana and southwest Mississippi recorded 1-2 inches of precipitation. A few areas that were abnormally dry did warrant improvements, but most areas welcomed the precipitation. The dryness over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle regions continued with an expansion of moderate and severe drought conditions this week and an introduction of extreme drought in Oklahoma. As of Jan. 9, some areas of the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and southern Kansas have gone 95-100 straight days with less than 0.10” of precipitation, with several locations reporting no precipitation at all during that time. Extreme drought also expanded in northern Texas. Moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions were also expanded in portions of central, southern, and west Texas.
Over the next 5-7 days, precipitation is widespread over much of the contiguous United States, with all but areas of the Southwest expecting to record some precipitation. The Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains are anticipated to have significant precipitation with liquid amounts of 3-4 inches along the coasts of northern California, Oregon, and Washington as well as over much of northern Idaho and western Montana. Significant precipitation is also anticipated over the Ohio River Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic, where 1.50-2.50 inches of liquid precipitation is forecast over widespread areas. Cooler than normal temperatures are anticipated over most areas east of the continental divide with departures of up to 15 degrees below normal while the western areas are anticipated to be warmer than normal with departures of 5-10 degrees above normal.
The 6-10 day outlooks show that the trend of warmer over the West and cooler over the East will likely continue. Temperatures have the greatest chance of being below normal over the Mid-Atlantic into the Southeast and above normal over the Southwest. Precipitation chances are projected to be greatest over the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest as well along the Mississippi River Valley. Drier than normal conditions are anticipated to mainly be over the areas of west Texas and southern New Mexico as well as along the coastal regions of the Southeast, with higher than normal chances of dry conditions along much of the east coast.
Read more at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.