![]() The National Fire Center reported nearly 60,000 acres consumed by wildfires across the South Protection Region (roughly the southeastern quarter of the contiguous states) during April 7 to 13. The Keetch-Byrum Drought Index – primarily a fire-risk indicator – was unseasonably high in this area, and the 3-month Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, which describes the net surface moisture budget relative to climatology) was below the 2 percentile threshold in most areas, including all of Hernando and Citrus Counties. Moderate to severe (D1 to D2) drought expanded northward in the northern Peninsula, and extreme drought (D3) was introduced in the western Peninsula from Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties northward through Citrus County, where 90-day rainfall was 5.5 to 8.5 inches below normal. In contrast, continued dryness and warm weather prompted deterioration in parts of the central and northern Florida Peninsula. Moderate drought there is now restricted to southeastern Louisiana, where substantial multi-month precipitation shortfalls persist despite a wet week. Heavy rainfall also eased dryness and drought from southern Louisiana eastward into the Florida Panhandle. Several inches of rain improved areas south and east of Lake Okeechobee, and engendered removal of extreme drought (D3) in the southwestern Peninsula. But farther south, heavy rainfall brought significant improvement to dry areas along the central Gulf Coast and in parts of the southern and eastern Florida Peninsula. Continued subnormal precipitation allowed moderate drought to push westward in northern Virginia and southward from the Virginia Tidewater into northeastern North Carolina. It was “feast or famine” in terms of precipitation across this climate region. Most areas from the Middle Atlantic Region through New England reported precipitation shortfalls of 1.5 to 3.0 inches during the past 60 days, with some locales reporting less than half of normal. The National Fire Center reported over 10,000 acres consumed in the East Protection Region (roughly the northeastern quarter of the contiguous states) from April 7 to 13, with additional wildfire activity reported in the lower Northeast during the ensuing 5 days. Moderate drought pushed into northern Virginia and adjacent sections of Maryland and West Virginia, and also expanded into northern New Jersey and parts of adjacent New York and southern New England. As a result, areas of D0 and D1 generally expanded. But most locations received light precipitation at best. Small areas of moderate to heavy precipitation brought localized improvement to a few areas, particularly parts of the DelMarVa Peninsula. But most locations experiencing abnormal dryness or drought saw conditions persist or intensify, with deterioration to D3 or D4 (Extreme to Exceptional Drought) noted in some areas across the western Florida Peninsula and the southern half of the Great Plains. In addition, rapid snowmelt quickly recharged soil moisture and boosted streamflows from the Dakotas to the western Great Lakes Region, prompting improvement in some areas. On the whole, some areas of dryness and drought in the Southeast, the Upper Midwest, the northern Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest felt improvement over the course of the week. ![]() Precipitation was a little more widespread over the Appalachians and along the Eastern Seaboard, but most areas received subnormal amounts with only isolated patches reporting moderate to heavy precipitation. ![]() Most of the Nation west of the Appalachians, however, saw light precipitation at best. Beneficial moderate to heavy precipitation also fell on parts of the Northern Rockies, northern Intermountain West, and Pacific Northwest. A few swaths in the Upper Midwest recorded 1.5 to 3.0 inches, specifically from central to northeastern Minnesota, across much of Wisconsin and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and from northeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska into southwest Iowa. Totals also exceeded 1.5 inches in parts of the central and southern Florida Peninsula, with amounts reaching 6 inches in parts of the southern Peninsula and along the eastern coastline. Over 1.5 inches fell on the south half of Mississippi and the central Gulf Coast Region from Louisiana through the Florida Panhandle, with totals of 4 to 6 inches dousing parts of southeast Mississippi, southern Alabama, and coastal Louisiana. While most of the country received light precipitation at best last week, large totals fell on a few areas. ![]()
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