U.S. Drought Monitor Update
The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced in partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From the National Drought Summary:
“For a second consecutive week, California sees a push of D2 [drought-severe intensity] across all of the Sacramento Valley and points eastward into more of both the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. Recent rains in and along the northwestern coastal ranges have not been nearly enough to offset the record to near-record year-to-date deficits that have led to reduced streamflows in many basins.
“Arizona and Nevada both see increases in drought conditions this week. In Nevada, D2 pushes farther east toward the Utah border while in Arizona both D2 and D3 expand slightly in the north central region and within the Navajo Nation.
“New Mexico continues to forge into uncharted territory, with data from NOAA-National Climatic Data Center (records going back to 1895) showing the past 12 months to be the driest on record for the state coupled with the past 24 and 36 months coming in as the second driest on record.”
Looking Ahead: “… Temperatures will build in concert with the high pressure ridging there, bringing the prospects of well above normal readings (in the 6-13 degree range) in California, the Intermountain West, the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies.”
Read more from the National Drought Summary