Overall, the Southeast region was essentially drought-free (1.15% in drought as of the 9/6/22 map) with a few pockets of Moderate Drought (D1) observed in South Carolina and Florida. On the map, some improvements were made in northern Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. SoutheastÄuring the past week, light-to-moderate rainfall accumulations (1 to 4 inches) were observed across the region with some areas of locally heavy accumulations logged in eastern North Carolina, coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia, and across Florida. According to NOAA NCEI, average temperatures in the Northeast Climate Region were above normal during the summer months, with August 2022 coming in at the 4th warmest on record. For the week, average temperatures were 1 to 6 deg F above normal with the greatest departures observed in the northern portion of the region including Upstate New York, northern Vermont, and northern Maine. On the map, some minor improvements were made in areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Maine. In terms of streamflow activity, 7-day average levels across much of the region have returned to normal with the exception of areas of northern Vermont that are below normal, ranging from the 1st to the 23rd percentile according to the U.S. Recent rainfall has helped boost topsoil moisture levels according to the latest NASA SPoRT soil moisture percentile rankings, although some dry pockets remain in northern New Hampshire, Maine, and northeastern Massachusetts. Some minor changes were made on the map in response to rainfall (1 to 3 inches) in the southern portion of the region this week as well as overall improving conditions over the past 90-day period. during August and the July-August 2022 period ranked at 19th and 28th wettest, respectively, placing it in the top 1/3rd wettest. Average minimum temperatures nationwide for August (+3.20 deg F) and the July-August (+3.12 deg F) periods were the warmest on record, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). experienced its 3rd warmest June-August period on record since 1895 in terms of average temperatures (+2.52 deg F anomaly). Looking back at the 2022 summer months, the contiguous U.S.
In the Southeast, most of the region remained drought-free with exception of coastal areas of east-central and southern Florida, where rainfall deficits for the past 90-day period ranged from 4 to 12+ inches, causing some concerns regarding hydrologic drought (some low groundwater and surface water levels) with the end of the wet season approaching. In the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, widespread shower activity this week helped to improve drought-related conditions in the southern portion of the Northeast region as well as alleviate short-term (past 30-60 days) precipitation deficits in areas of the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of North Carolina. Elsewhere in the region, a combination of short and longer-term precipitation deficits in Iowa led to degradation on the map, with rainfall deficits during the past 90-day period ranging from 4 to 8+ inches in southern Iowa. In the Midwest, widespread heavy rainfall accumulations ranging from 2 to 6+ inches impacted northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin over the weekend-erasing some of the short-term precipitation deficits. In Texas, areas of isolated heavy rainfall accumulations (3 to 5+ inches) this week continued to ease drought-related conditions in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas.
In the High Plains, above-normal temperatures (2 to 6 deg F) and generally dry conditions during the past week continued to exacerbate drought conditions across areas of the central and northern Plains, with a growing number of drought impacts within the agricultural sector being reported to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Unfortunately, the overall impact of the precipitation on the long-term drought in California was negligible. Overall, the heaviest accumulations were observed in very isolated higher-elevation areas of the Peninsular Ranges and Transverse Ranges of Southern California with accumulations ranging from 3 to 5-inches in addition to reports of wind gusts between 70-100 mph.
Over the weekend and early this week, the residual moisture from the system moved further onshore impacting areas including Southern California, southern Sierra Nevada, Desert Southwest, and portions of the Great Basin. Drought Monitor (USDM) week saw areas of isolated heavy rainfall in Southern California and the Desert Southwest in association with remnant moisture from Tropical Cyclone Kay late last week.