U.S. Weather/Crop Progress
U.S. Drought Monitor Weather Forecast: At least one storm system will track from the southern Plains eastward across the Gulf Coast states and northward along the Eastern Seaboard during January 23-26, 2015. As a result, a large swath along that path and the adjacent Appalachians should get at least an inch of precipitation, and totals may reach 3 inches in eastern Texas and along the central Gulf Coast. Farther north and west, including non-coastal New England and the northern Appalachians, only a few tenths of an inch are expected at best. Above-normal temperatures will settle across a large area from the middle Ohio Valley and central Great Lakes region westward through central and northern sections of the Plains and Rockies, plus the entire Intermountain West and West Coast. Daily high temperatures could average 15F to 24F above normal in the northern Plains and adjacent Rockies. In the Great Basin and most of California, 9F to 12F is expected. Only the southern sections of the Rockies and High Plains will average significantly colder than normal, with anomalies of -3F to -9F.
Conditions should be drier-than-normal for the ensuing period of January 27-31 across the northern halves of the West Coast and Intermoutain West. The odds also favor drier than normal conditions in a broad area from the Plains eastward to the Piedmont and from the northern Mississippi Valley and central Great Lakes region southward to the central Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, enhanced chances for unusually heavy precipitation extend from the North Carolina Coastal Plains northward along the coast and through New England. In addition, the southern Great Plains, all of the High Plains, the southern Rockies, and the Southwest also have enhanced chances for surplus precipitation. Odds favor subnormal temperatures from the Mississippi Valley eastward, and warmer than normal conditions from the Plains westward to the Pacific. Follow this link to view current U.S. and international weather patterns and the future outlook: Weather and Crop Bulletin.