During the past week, light-to-heavy rainfall accumulations (1 to 6+ inches) were observed across the region including an outbreak of severe weather on Tuesday evening (Nov 29) into Wednesday morning with numerous tornadoes reported across areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This week’s precipitation led to improvements on the map in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) and Moderate Drought (D1) in the southern half of Alabama and isolated areas of Georgia. In contrast, low streamflows, dry soils, and short-term precipitation shortfalls led to an introduction of Severe Drought (D2) in northern Alabama. Elsewhere in the Southeast, improvements were made in the Piedmont region of North Carolina where 2 to 3 inches of rain was observed this week. Conversely, areas of Moderate Drought (D1) expanded along the southern coast of North Carolina in response to short-term precipitation deficits over the past 30 days, dry soils, and reports of some low groundwater levels. For the week, average temperatures were above normal across the region with the greatest departures (6 to 10 deg F above normal) observed in southern portions of the region in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. According to NOAA NCEI, average temperatures in the Southeast Climate Region were below normal during October (-1.9 deg F anomaly), while the past 12-month period (Nov 2021-Oct 2022) was the 11th warmest on record (+1.7-deg F anomaly). In terms of notable precipitation rankings, Florida saw its 8th driest October on record (-2.45-inch anomaly).

Full Summary