U.S. Drought Monitor

 (data through 2/14/12)
Data Source(s): U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Drought Mitigation Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A very dry weather pattern settled over most of the western U.S. in January, leading to a continued expansion and intensification of drought conditions, particularly in northwest Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Both warm temperatures and scant rain and snow played a role. Winter storms generally steered clear of the intermountain West and Southwest, paving the way for unusually dry and warm weather to dominate. Some storms pummeled the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures across much of the West were between 0 and 6 degrees F above average. As a result of the warm and dry weather, moderate or a more severe drought category expanded in the West from 29 percent in mid-January to about 41 percent in mid-February (Figure 3). Extreme and exceptional drought only occupies the southeast corner of New Mexico.

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