Drought Monitor 3/14 - Central Plains Drought Growing, Spreads South; NC/AL/GA Drought Intact

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Southeast

Outside of Florida and the coastal regions of Alabama, temperatures were 2-4 degrees cooler than normal during the week. The heaviest rains were in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and the coastal regions of North Carolina, with some areas recording up to 3-4 inches of rain. Florida remained fairly dry with only enough precipitation to keep drought from expanding rapidly. In Florida, the moderate drought was expanded to the north in central Florida and abnormally dry conditions spread into more of northern Florida. In North Carolina, moderate drought was expanded while abnormally dry conditions were introduced into North and South Carolina. Georgia had improvements to the extreme drought in the northwest and moderate drought in the west while both Mississippi and Alabama had improvements to drought intensities where the greatest rains fell over the last week. Western Tennessee had reductions to the abnormally dry conditions there; while no other changes were made, precipitation deficits were reduced.

Midwest

Cooler than normal temperatures dominated the region with departures of 5 degrees below normal widespread and 10-15 degree departures over the northern Midwest. Most of the region was dry during the week, with only portions of Iowa, southern Minnesota, southern Missouri and western Kentucky recording above-normal precipitation. Slight improvements were made over southeast Missouri and western Kentucky to the abnormally dry conditions.

High Plains

Temperatures were mixed over the region. In the western portions, temperatures were above normal, with departures of up to 5 degrees. Most of the rest of the region was below normal, with departures of 5-10 degrees common in Kansas and Nebraska and departures of 10-15 degrees below normal over the Dakotas. Almost the entire region was dry during the week, with only portions of the Dakotas recording precipitation associated with a fast-moving snow event. No changes were made to the drought depiction for the region this week, but conditions are being monitored closely as the short-term indicators have dried out significantly over the last few weeks.

South

Temperatures were warmer than normal over Texas and much of Oklahoma with departures of 2-4 degrees while the rest of the region was cooler than normal with departures of 2-4 degrees. Precipitation was greatest over south Texas and into portions of Louisiana and Arkansas. These rains were spotty, and not all areas recorded above-normal precipitation. The rains did allow for a full category improvement over south Texas, and improvements were also made over southeast Oklahoma, northeast Arkansas, and southern Louisiana. Degradation was also noted over northeast Texas where moderate drought expanded and over northwest Louisiana where moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions expanded. Abnormally dry conditions also expanded over west Texas and the panhandle.

West

Warmer than normal temperatures dominated the region, with departures of up to 5 degrees common. Precipitation was greatest over the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains as snow continued to accumulate in the higher elevations. Minor changes were made over the region this week as severe drought was improved upon over Catalina Island in California and abnormally dry conditions were removed from Utah. In Montana, some abnormally dry conditions were expanded to include more areas where the snow totals for the water year are below normal. In Colorado, severe drought was added in the north while moderate drought expanded in the southeast. It has been very dry on the plains, and conditions will need to be watched closely in the near term.

EDIT

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/