Precipitation patterns generally drove drought changes across the Southeast this week. While some areas continued to benefit from moisture that fell earlier in the winter, much of the region experienced a mostly dry and cold week. A winter storm this week did bring well-above-normal precipitation to the coastal Carolinas, much of it falling as snow. The combination of frozen precipitation and cooler temperatures limited the immediate hydrologic benefits, leaving the area unchanged.
Across the central Gulf Coast region, extending from southern Mississippi through southern Georgia and into northern Florida, conditions continued to deteriorate following another week without precipitation. A growing precipitation deficit, very low streamflows, declining soil moisture and increasing fire danger led to degradation across parts the region. Extreme drought (D3) from southern Georgia into northern Florida broadly expanded farther south across the Florida Peninsula, precipitation deficits continued to grow after missing out on meaningful precipitation. This led to one-category degradations across the central peninsula, with the introduction of extreme drought conditions (D3) southeast of Tampa Bay. The southern Everglades area saw the introduction of extreme drought (D3) due to extremely low groundwater levels, minimal surface water availability and elevated fire danger. Virginia remained unchanged outside of one-class degradations in the southeast, where recent precipitation was insufficient to offset longer-term deficits.
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