Source: U.S. Drought Monitor |March 12, 2019

Data valid March 12, 2019

South: Drought-free conditions continued across most of the South. Western Oklahoma and northern and western Texas received rainfall late in the drought week that allowed some retreat of both moderate drought (D1) and abnormal dryness (D0). South central and southern Texas received little to no precipitation and D0 conditions expanded slightly eastward.

Looking Ahead: The central U.S. is anticipating a very strong storm from March 12 to the 14, with the threat of blizzard conditions from the Rockies to the Central and Northern Plains to the Upper Midwest, and severe storms with hurricane-force winds from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Mississippi River Valley. Heavy rains in the Midwest and Great Plains may melt snow that lead to significant flooding. The storm is expected to impact 70 million people. Looking further out into the next week, much of the nation may see dry, cool weather, with below-average temperatures and below-average precipitation forecast across most of the eastern half of contiguous U.S. Looking two weeks ahead, increased chances of above-normal precipitation are forecast for Alaska, the southern Florida Peninsula, and the western half of the contiguous U.S. The eastern half, on the other hand, is forecast to continue seeing drier-than-normal conditions.

Map valid March 14, 2019