09/19/2024

Category 2 Hurricane Francine made landfall last Wednesday and was the driving force behind precipitation in the Southern Region the previous week. As a result, storm surge and heavy rainfall battered Southern Louisiana and left many areas under water. Francine brought enough moisture to the state to alleviate drought conditions. Before landfall, the storm traveled from near the Texas-Mexico border north toward the rest of the Region. Its rainbands dumped over 7 inches here and carried moisture inland Texas. Combined with long-lasting cloud cover, temperatures were moderated in Texas, allowing drought conditions to ameliorate. However, areas just north of the storm’s reach continued their weeks-long trend of drought degradations. The Southern Region saw a significant increase in land affected by (D2) Severe Drought conditions, especially in Tennessee and Oklahoma. 

Looking to the future, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) highlights the Southern Region with a high chance of above-normal temperatures until the end of the month. On the other hand, precipitation chances are likely to stay near normal.