02/23/2025 - 03/01/2025

Climate in the News:

Displayed by the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for March, a large area of drought development is forecasted in the Southern Region. Drought is anticipated to develop throughout much of Texas and Southwestern Louisiana. This outlook coincides closely with the March temperature and precipitation outlook which has above-normal temperatures for the area and below-normal precipitation, both conducive to drought development.

Weather Synopsis:

High pressure can be seen broadly sitting over the Southern Region on the surface analysis below. This high pressure dominated our weather pattern last week resulting in clear skies and spring-like temperatures.

Temperature: 

Overall, February is when the Region consistently sees cooler temperatures. Frequent cold fronts bring with them colder air masses from the northern United States and Canada, bringing freezing temperatures to the northern portions of the Region.

As previously discussed, the Southern Region was feeling some spring-like temperatures last week. Although, a cold front did pass through the region mid-week cooling temperatures down to near normal before things quickly heated back up to finish the week. Weekly average temperatures were above normal across the region, with the exception of Louisiana and the coastal areas where normal temperatures were felt. Overall temperatures were quite warm throughout the Region with much of the Region seeing weekly average temperatures in the 50s.

Precipitation: 

With the majority of the Region being in a humid subtropical climate, rainfall is common at any point of the year. During the winter months, cold fronts bring with them showers, thunderstorms, and frozen precipitation to the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The boundary between the cold and warm air masses serves as a trigger mechanism for storms.

As a result of high-pressure, no precipitation fell for the majority of the Southern Region. Some small areas of showers did occur though with the passage of the cold front mid-week.