12/14/2023

Precipitation was hard to come by for the western portions of the region and most of Arkansas last week. However, last weekend a cold front in which a squall line advanced brought rain to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. While it was only enough to bring near-normal amounts of precipitation for the week to those states, it was enough for one and a half to two times normal in south-central Mississippi and Eastern Tennessee. It also proved to be enough rain to help continue to improve drought conditions in Southern Louisiana. Rainfall in areas that needed it the most led to widespread one-class improvements in Southern Louisiana, South- Central Mississippi, and Eastern Tennessee. However, a lack of rain led to one-class degradation in areas of East Texas, Northeast Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Consistent storm systems making their way through southern Louisiana in the past several weeks have made vast improvements in drought conditions. From August 29th to November 28th Southwestern Louisiana has been experiencing exceptional drought (D4). Last week that improved from extreme drought (D3) to now severe drought (D2).

Looking into the future, as outlined by the Climate Prediction Center’s One Month Precipitation Outlook, valid for December, above-normal precipitation chances are expected in Louisiana and Mississippi, which can be expected with a strong El Nino. This should help continue to improve drought in the two states. In Central Mississippi, about 12 inches of rain is required to ameliorate drought or Central Louisiana where 17 inches is needed.