Monthly Drought and Impacts Summary

Precipitation ranged from near normal to 200 percent of normal in the majority of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, and in eastern Connecticut, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern Maine, and pockets of New York. The driest conditions were found in pockets of West Virginia, Delaware, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine, where precipitation was only 25 to 50 percent of normal. The remainder of the region saw smaller precipitation deficits. Temperatures were primarily 2 to 4 degrees above normal throughout the entire region, although some small areas saw temperatures within a degree of normal and others as much as 5 degrees above normal.  A majority of the states in the region saw temperatures that ranked within the 10 warmest on record. The region remained free of drought and dryness throughout the month with the exception of a small area of abnormal dryness in Connecticut and Massachusetts during the week of July 16.

During July, drier than normal conditions were found in most of Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia (25 to 90 percent of normal precipitation). Meanwhile, far northern Alabama, pockets of southern Georgia, much of Florida, and pockets of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia saw precipitation ranging from 100 to 200 percent of normal. Temperatures ranged from 2 degrees below normal to 1 degree above normal in much of Alabama, southern Georgia, northern Florida, and small pockets of the Carolinas while temperatures ranged from 1 to 3 degrees above normal in much of the remainder of the region. However, small pockets of southern Alabama, eastern North Carolina, and Virginia saw temperatures as much as 4 degrees above normal. Florida saw its 8^th warmest July on record and North Carolina saw its 11^th warmest. Pockets of drought changed and shifted slightly over the course of the month. By the end of the month, moderate drought coverage decreased 1.32 percentage points to 5.69 percent and severe drought coverage doubled, ending up at 0.86 percent. The region remained free of extreme and exceptional drought.

The eastern halves of Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as Mississippi and Tennessee, saw abundant precipitation ranging from 100 to 300 percent of normal. On the other hand, much of western Louisiana, western Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma saw only 5 to 50 percent of normal precipitation. Temperatures ranged between 3 degrees below normal and 1 degree above normal in much of the region, but temperatures were 1 to 5 degrees above normal in western Texas and pockets of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. With the lack of precipitation in much of the region, dryness and drought was introduced in areas of western Texas and Oklahoma. Moderate drought coverage increased from 0.68 to 2.93 percent and severe drought increased from 0.03 percent to 0.21 percent.

Southern and western Minnesota, most of Wisconsin, and pockets scattered throughout the remainder of the region saw precipitation between 100 and 200 percent of normal. The driest conditions were found in pockets of Missouri, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, and in large areas of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana where precipitation was 25 to 70 percent of normal. Much of the region saw above-normal temperatures (1 to 4 degrees above normal), with Ohio seeing its 11^th warmest July on record. Parts of Minnesota and Kentucky, far western Iowa, southern Missouri, and southern Illinois, however, saw temperatures as much as 1 to 2 degrees below normal. The region remained free of drought during July, but abnormal dryness was introduced in a swath from Iowa into Indiana, and in pockets of Michigan.

Precipitation totals ranging from 100 to more than 300 percent of normal were found in northeast Wyoming, parts of North Dakota, much of South Dakota, central Nebraska, and small pockets of Colorado and Kansas. South Dakota even saw its 3^rd wettest July on record. Otherwise, conditions were relatively dry, with precipitation ranging from 25 to 70 percent in the remainder of the region. Temperatures were generally within two degrees of normal during July. Temperatures were as much as 4 degrees above normal in parts of Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern South Dakota, and northeast North Dakota, and as much as 4 degrees below normal in pockets of northern Wyoming, the western Dakotas, western Nebraska, and southern Kansas. The area of drought in North Dakota shrank during the month, leaving only 0.25 percent of the region in moderate drought by the end of the month compared to 1.48 percent at the beginning of July. Severe drought was completely removed from the region. Abnormal dryness was added to parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas.

Most of the region saw below-normal precipitation ranging from 2 to 50 percent of normal.  However, because summer is normally relatively dry for most of the West, precipitation deficits were less than 1 inch for most areas, with the exception of pockets of Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico where deficits were as much as 2-3 inches. Temperatures were generally within 2 degrees of normal throughout the region, although temperatures were as much as 2 to 6 degrees below normal in the northern tier of the region and as much as 2 to 6 degrees above normal in the southern half of the region. With the warm temperatures, New Mexico saw its 6^th warmest July on record. Drought areas were relatively static throughout the month, with moderate drought coverage increasing from 5.53 percent to 6.01 percent and severe drought coverage decreasing from 1.24 percent to 0.77 percent. Abnormal dryness was introduced in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.