Abnormal dryness contracted in southern Indiana, and abnormal dryness and moderate to severe drought contracted in northwest Missouri. The recent precipitation reduced moderate to extreme drought in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but the extent of abnormal dryness was kept intact to reflect the dry and frozen soils that haven’t benefited yet from the rain and snow. Soils in the Upper Mississippi Valley were dry in the fall, and these dry conditions were locked in place as the soils froze with the onset of winter. Totals over 3 inches resulted in flood warnings in Kentucky. Half an inch to an inch or more of precipitation fell in these wet areas, while a dry band of less than a quarter of an inch stretched from central Illinoi to northern Ohio and southeast Michigan. Multiple storm tracks gave the Midwest region wet conditions along the Ohio River in the south and across the Upper Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes in the north and west.

According to media reports, 80-mph winds created a dust storm in the Oklahoma panhandle that caused a multiple car pileup, killing a driver. But extreme to exceptional drought expanded in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, while abnormal dryness and moderate to severe drought expanded in parts of southern Texas along the coast and along the Rio Grande River where streamflow and soil moisture conditions deteriorated and precipitation deficits continued to grow. Abnormal dryness and moderate to extreme drought contracted in eastern Oklahoma, due to wet conditions this week and previous weeks and improved soil moisture and streamflow conditions, and abnormal dryness contracted in northeast Texas. For the rest of Oklahoma and Texas, the week continued a dry pattern. Half an inch or more occurred from there to eastern Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Two inches or more of precipitation fell across eastern portions of the South region, specifically parts of Mississippi and much of Tennessee. Otherwise, there was no change in status for the Southeast, with some moderate drought remaining in Florida and southeast Georgia and a few spots of abnormal dryness in other states. Abnormal dryness expanded to all of the west coast of the Florida peninsula. Weekly precipitation totals across the Southeast region ranged from over 2 inches in the north and west to no precipitation across much of the Florida peninsula. Other than abnormal dryness contracting in West Virginia, there was no change in status for the Northeast, with a small area of moderate drought remaining over eastern Maryland and spots of abnormal dryness scattered across other states. The rest of the Northeast had less than half an inch. Half an inch or more extended northward to southern Pennsylvania and southern New England, while half an inch fell over northern Maine. NortheastĪn inch or more of precipitation fell across southern parts of the Northeast region, with West Virginia receiving over 2 inches. Drought or abnormal dryness contracted or reduced in intensity where it was wet over parts of the Four Corners area, southern and central Plains to Upper Mississippi Valley, and the Big Island in Hawaii. Drought or abnormal dryness expanded where it continued dry in parts of the Pacific Northwest, southern Plains, and Florida. It was a drier-than-normal week across much of the West, southern Plains, coastal Southeast, and southern Great Lakes to New England, and parts of the northern to central Plains. The week was wetter than normal across parts of the northern Rockies, from the Four Corners states to western Great Lakes, and from the central Gulf Coast states to Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic states. As the week ended, weather systems moved across the northern tier states, bringing areas of snow. Two weather systems early in the week generated above-normal precipitation across parts of the central to eastern CONUS. A southerly flow between the trough and eastern ridge spread warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico across the eastern CONUS and directed weather systems northeastward from the southern Plains to Great Lakes. Strong high pressure over the Gulf of Mexico extended into a ridge across the East Coast. An upper-level trough developed over the western CONUS downstream from the ridge, and the trough was responsible for a cooler-than-normal week over the West. This resulted in a generally drier-than-normal week over much of the West. Drought Monitor (USDM) week (February 15-21).

An upper-level ridge over the northeastern North Pacific Ocean deflected Pacific storm systems away from the West Coast of the contiguous U.S.

Inoted states