SWCO: Temperature meets April 2017 Streamflow Forecasts
March 2017 turned out to be the warmest non-El Niño March on record and the second warmest March overall (Figs. 5a-c).
March 2017 turned out to be the warmest non-El Niño March on record and the second warmest March overall (Figs. 5a-c).
Similar to last month, oceanic and atmospheric indicators of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are in the range of neutral (Figs. 1-2), and these conditions are forecast to last through the spring and summer. Most forecasts and outlooks indicate that El Niño conditions could return in mid-to-late 2017, but these assessments come with the annual caveat of increased uncertainty associated with the “spring predictability barrier”, during which time the specifics regarding the possibility, timing, and intensity of an El Niño event are elusive. At any rate, the models and forecasts indicate a near-zero probability of La Niña in 2017, leaving forecasters to decide between the probability of neutral or El Niño conditions in later 2017. (read more)
Precipitation & Temperature: March precipitation totals were average to below average in most of the Southwest except for the northeastern corner of New Mexico (Fig. 1a). March temperatures were much-above average across the entire Southwest, with record warm temperatures in the southeast corner of Arizona and most of New Mexico (Fig. 1b). April precipitation to date has been below average for much of southern Arizona and New Mexico (Fig. 2), while April temperatures have been between 0 and 6 degrees above normal for most of the region. Water year precipitation has been normal to above normal for most of Arizona and New Mexico, aside from a dry region along much of the Arizona-Mexico border (Fig. 3). (read more)