United States and Puerto Rico Author(s):
Pacific Islands and Virgin Islands Author(s):
Estimated Population in Drought Areas:
For the last couple of weeks, several tenths of an inch to over an inch of precipitation fell from the Cascades of Washington and northern Oregon westward to the Pacific Ocean, allowing temperatures to climb only slightly above normal and bringing an end to abnormal dryness in a small section of northwestern Washington where precipitation has been most significant. Slightly-elevated temperatures extended eastward through the state of Washington and some adjacent areas, but the rest of the West Region was significantly warmer than normal, with many areas reporting record or near-record heat for this time of year. Areas from southern Montana, central Idaho, and southern Oregon southward through the Great Basin, California, Arizona, and western New Mexico reported high temperatures averaging over 10 deg. F above normal, with most of California and the adjacent Southwest enduring almost summerlike heat 15 to 20 deg. F above normal for this time of year. For the past 2 months, high temperatures have averaged 4 to 8 deg. F above normal over central and eastern Montana, and through most of Arizona and some adjacent areas, including southern Nevada. A few locations in eastern Montana averaged more than 8 deg. F higher than normal. Drought tends to move slowly this time of year in the West Region, where light precipitation often doesn’t keep up with water loss to evapotranspiration and human usage, but the excessive heat has caused drought conditions to intensify at a quicker rate than usual. This past week, much of the West south and east of the Cascades saw conditions deteriorate sufficiently to justify an increase in the Drought Monitor classification, with a large D2 expansion in the Southwest as well as parts of eastern Washington and Idaho. D2 to D4 conditions (severe to exceptional drought) also covered western Montana, unchanged over the past several weeks. On the southern tier of the West Region, D2 and D3 conditions increased slightly in coverage over southern New Mexico. The area with some improvement was found in central Idaho due to the sustained effects of precipitation a few weeks back.
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