Pro Farmer Editors

According to NOAA's Drought Monitor, beneficial precipitation again fell on central and northern California, bringing additional relief to areas in severe and extreme drought. Little to no precipitation fell from southern California to the southern Plains and conditions deteriorated in parts of the Southwest and southern Plains. Two storm systems brought much needed rain and snow to the Southeast, leading to some improvements and staving off further degradation in other areas.

Looking ahead, NOAA says the northern tier states are anticipated to receive the bulk of precipitation during March 5 – March 9, 2009. Widespread areas of precipitation are expected to occur from the Colorado Rockies to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. From 1 to 2 inches is possible in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest while lighter amounts are more likely over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the northern sections of the Intermountain West. Precipitation is again expected to fall in northern California, but amounts will likely be lower than the recent past. Forecasts indicate light precipitation in drought-affected areas of the Upper Midwest. Little to no precipitation is anticipated in the most southern parts of the Southwest, and the Southeast will likely remain precipitation free until the passage of a frontal system as the period comes to a close. Temperatures are expected to be below average across much of the western third of the nation while the central and eastern U.S. are expected to be warmer to much warmer than average.

For the ensuing 5 days (March 10 – 14, 2009), the odds favor a continuation of cooler-than-normal conditions from the West Coast to the Rockies and into the Plains with well below average temperatures in the northern Rockies and northern Plains. Above-average temperatures are more likely in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. A much drier pattern is favored to return to northern California and the Pacific Northwest while an active weather pattern affects the eastern two-thirds of the nation from the Rockies to the East Coast. Above average precipitation is forecast across much of the central and eastern U.S. with the heaviest amounts in the Ohio and Tennessee Valley. However little or no precipitation is anticipated over the Florida Peninsula and West Texas. In Alaska, above normal temperatures and precipitation are favored across the Aleutians and western Alaska, while below-average temperatures and precipitation are expected in the Alaska Panhandle.