Midwest Weekly Highlights - March 25-31, 2019

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Cooler Temperatures

Below-normal temperatures were widespread across the Midwest during the week (Figure 1).  The coldest areas were across the upper Midwest, where northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were 2-5°F below normal.  Most of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio were 1-3°F below normal while most of Missouri was near normal.  Several dozen daily low temperature records were broken across the region (Figure 2).
 

Wetter in Southern Midwest

After a reprieve from wet weather in the prior week, heavy rain returned to the southern Midwest during the week (Figure 3).  Storms through the mornings of March 25 (Figure 4), March 29 (Figure 5), March 30 (Figure 6) and March 31 (Figure 7) produced amounts of over an inch in some areas.  This led to weekly totals of more than two inches fron eastern Missouri through central Illinois, southern Indiana and southwestern Ohio.  This was more than double the normal amount (Figure 8).  More than 100 daily precipitation records were broken during the week, mainly in these areas (Figure 9).  Some of the precipitation fell as snow as temperatures were cold enough in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan (Figure 10).  Amounts were generally less than two inches, however.
 

Major Flooding Continues

Flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries continued throughout the week (Figure 11).  Major flooding occurred along the Mississippi River from central Iowa (Figure 12) through central Missouri (Figure 13), as well as in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN area (Figure 14).  The Minnesota River also was at major flood stage throughout the week (Figure 15).  Moderate and minor flooding remained on the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers as waters slowly receded from record highs two weeks prior.
 

Lack of Dryness Reaches Fifth Consecutive Week

The Midwest remained free of abnormally dry or drought conditions for the fifth consecutive week according to the March 26 U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 16).  This update also extended drought-free conditions in 2019 to a third consecutive month.  Soil moisture at the end of March remained in the top ten percentile across most of the region, with some areas in near-record territory (Figure 17).
 

-BJP-