Monthly Drought and Impacts Summary

Precipitation in West Virginia, western Maryland, and western Pennsylvania ranged from 130 to 300 percent of normal while precipitation values in the remainder of the region were generally 70-130 percent of normal.  Temperatures compared to normal generally followed a southwest-to-northeast gradient with warm temperatures (6 to 8 degrees above normal) in West Virginia and cool temperatures (2 to 4 degrees below normal) in northern Maine.  Throughout the middle portion of the region, temperatures were generally 2 degrees below normal to 4 degrees above normal.  The entire region was free of dryness and drought throughout February.

A very tight gradient of percent of normal precipitation was found in the Southeast during February.  Much of Virginia and northern portions of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina saw precipitation between 130 and 300 percent of normal.  In contrast, northern Florida and the southern portions of Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas only saw 5 to 50 percent of normal precipitation.  Central and southern Florida saw more variable precipitation, ranging from 25 to 200 percent of normal.  The entire region was warmer than normal, with the warmest conditions in southern Alabama and northern Florida, where temperatures were 9 to 12 degrees above normal.  The majority of the remainder of the region saw temperatures between 3 and 9 degrees above normal, with the exception of eastern Virginia, where temperatures were 0 to 3 degrees above normal.  Many states in the region saw a top 10 warmest February on record.  Moderate drought was removed from southern Florida, leaving none of the region in drought by the end of the month.  Abnormal dryness, however, was introduced in the eastern Carolinas mid-month.

Precipitation in the South varied greatly during February.  Much of Texas and western and central Oklahoma received only 5 to 50 percent of normal precipitation.  Southern Louisiana and Mississippi were also dry, with precipitation generally between 25 and 90 percent of normal.  On the other hand, most of Arkansas, far northeastern Louisiana, northern Mississippi, and all of Tennessee saw abundant precipitation—on the order of 150 to over 300 percent of normal.  Some places in Tennessee picked up 9 to 12 inches more rainfall than normal, contributing to Tennessee’s wettest February on record. Temperatures were cooler than normal in much of Oklahoma and parts of northern Texas (0 to 6 degrees below normal) while temperatures were slightly above normal in much of Texas and Arkansas (0 to 3 degrees above normal).  Temperatures were well above normal in southeastern Texas, far eastern Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee (generally 3 to 9 degrees above normal).  A small pocket of southern Mississippi even saw temperatures more than 9 degrees above normal.  Because of the low precipitation amounts throughout Texas, moderate drought coverage in the region increased from 0.58 to 8.38 percent during the month.  Abnormal dryness also increased significantly— from 5.04 to 28.94 percent. 

Much of the region saw precipitation between 150 and 400 percent of normal, with an even larger surplus in parts of northern Wisconsin and northern Iowa, where precipitation totals were 400 to over 800 percent of normal.  These totals correspond with the snowiest February on record for many cities in the region.  The only locations to see slightly drier than normal conditions were those in small pockets of Minnesota and in a band extending from southwestern Missouri, through central Illinois, and into northern Indiana, southern Michigan, and northern Ohio.  Precipitation in these areas was generally 75 to 100 percent of normal.  Temperatures compared to normal created a northwest-to-southeast gradient, with the coldest temperatures in western Minnesota and Iowa (10 to 15 degrees below normal) and the warmest temperatures in Kentucky (5 to 10 degrees above normal) and southern Illinois, much of Indiana, and Ohio (0 to 5 degrees above normal).  Places in between saw temperatures 0-10 degrees below normal.  The region remained drought free during February and the small areas of abnormal dryness in northern Minnesota were removed by the end of the month.

Drier than normal conditions were found in much of Wyoming, western Nebraska, pockets of Colorado, and pockets of Kansas where precipitation was between 2 and 75 percent of normal.  In contrast, northwestern Wyoming, much of the Dakotas, eastern Nebraska, western Kansas, and western Colorado saw precipitation of generally 150 to 400 percent of normal, with some localized areas seeing nearly 800 percent of normal.  Temperatures were frigid in the Dakotas and northern Wyoming (15 to 25 degrees below normal) and well below normal in Nebraska (generally 10 to 15 degrees below normal.  In fact, North Dakota saw its second coldest February on record, South Dakota its third coldest, and Nebraska its eighth coldest.  The remainder of the region was also primarily colder than normal, but to a lesser extent (0 to 10 degrees below normal).  Small pockets in southern Wyoming and Colorado saw slightly warmer than normal conditions (0 to 5 degrees above normal).  With the ample precipitation in the Dakotas and western Colorado, drought areas shrank.  By the end of the month, the coverage of moderate drought was down 3.31 percent to 14.07 percent and severe drought was reduced 1.24 percent to 7.21 percent.  Only 0.12 percent of the region was left in extreme drought, and exceptional drought was completely removed. 

The region saw a relatively stormy February and precipitation was between 150 and 400 percent of normal for large areas of the region.  Montana and the Four Corners region were the wettest, with precipitation upwards of 800 percent of normal.  Isolated drier than normal conditions were found in parts of Washington; far northwestern Oregon; small pockets in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona; and far southern California.  Much of New Mexico missed out on the moisture and saw only 2 to 50 percent of normal precipitation.  Nearly the entire region saw colder than normal temperatures.  Western Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, western New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho generally saw temperatures between 0 and 10 degrees below normal. Eastern Washington was even colder with temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees below normal.  California ended up with its eighth coldest February on record and Washington saw its fifth coldest.  Montana, however, saw the most extreme conditions of all, with temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees below normal for much of the state, leading to the second coldest February on record.  Only eastern New Mexico and small pockets of Utah, Oregon, and Idaho saw temperatures warmer than normal (0 to 5 degrees above normal).  With the ample precipitation and cool temperatures, drought was nearly completely removed from California and Idaho.  Coverage of drought greatly improved throughout the remainder of the region, and extreme and exceptional drought were left only in New Mexico.  Specifically, moderate drought decreased 14.72 percent to 26.50 percent, severe drought decreased 7.36 percent to 9.76, extreme drought decreased 3.46 percent to 1.40 percent, and only 0.09 percent of the region was left in exceptional drought.