U.S. Weather/Crop Progress
U.S. Drought Monitor Weather Forecast: The upper-level circulation pattern (of ridge west/trough east) will continue. Above-normal temperatures are expected over the western CONUS and below-normal temperatures east of the Rockies, with weekly temperature anomalies as much as 20 degrees below normal during the next seven days. Another storm system will develop in the east, bringing an inch or more of precipitation to the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and coastal Mid-Atlantic to Northeast. The NWS HPC 7-Day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) also calls for half an inch or more of precipitation for February 19-25 across parts of the Rockies and central Plains, eastern portions of the Southern Plains, and most of the country east of the Mississippi River, while half an inch to no precipitation is forecast for the West.
The 10-day and 14-day outlooks expand the area of below-normal temperatures across the eastern CONUS to the Rockies, while above-normal temperatures should continue along the West Coast. Drier-than-normal weather is expected for February 24-March 4 from the northern Plains to western Great Lakes and southwest Alaska, while precipitation should be above normal from parts of the southern Plains, across the Southeast, to the coastal Northeast. Pacific weather systems undercutting the ridge should bring above-normal precipitation to the West late in the period. Follow this link to view current U.S. and international weather patterns and the future outlook: Weather and Crop Bulletin.