Midwest Weekly Highlights - December 1-7, 2016

---

First Snow of Season in the Central Midwest

Precipitation was below normal for much of the Midwest in the first week of December, but some areas were above normal (Figure 1). The driest area extended from southwestern Missouri to the northeast into Indiana, with less than 50% of normal (Figure 2). Totals were less than a quarter-inch in some parts of Missouri (Figure 3), more than a half-inch below normal. One swath of above-normal precipitation extended across northern Minnesota with amounts ranging from two to five times normal for the week. Another swath stretched from southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri northeast into Wisconsin with totals slightly above normal. A third swath of wetness clipped the southeastern parts of Kentucky with totals exceeding twice the normal amount.

Snowfall during the week was heaviest across northern Minnesota and also in east central Iowa and northern Illinois. Totals topped the one-foot mark in Minnesota and ranged from six to ten inches in the affected areas of Iowa and Illinois (Figure 4). Measurable snow on the 4th and 5th (Figure 5) in southeastern Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, northern and central Illinois, and the northern half of Indiana was the first snow of the season. Upper Michigan, which was already well behind normal for the season, was again several inches below normal for the week (Figure 6).
 

Warmer Than Normal Temperatures to the North

Temperatures were in the 20s in Minnesota and parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan (Figure 7), averaging 5°F to as much as 12°F above normal (Figure 8). Further south, temperatures were closer to normal, with some slightly below-normal readings in Missouri, southern Illinois, and western Kentucky. Maximum temperatures, when compared to normal (Figure 9), were cooler than minimum temperatures which were well above normal across much of the Midwest (Figure 10).
 

Reduction of Extreme Drought in Kentucky

The heavy precipitation in southwestern Kentucky helped alleviate the extreme drought in the state. While the area in drought was largely unchanged, the severity was scaled back as of the U.S. Drought Monitor for December 6th (Figure 11). The amount of Kentucky in extreme drought dropped from nearly 25% to less than 7% of the state. More than 80% of the state remained in severe drought.
 

-MST-