10/19/2023

While more seasonable temperatures were experienced last week, the majority of the southern climate region saw no sizable precipitation. Fortunately, though, areas along the Gulf Coast were able to receive widespread precipitation due to a warm front last week, resulting in one-class improvements in South Texas. Although some areas were fortunate to receive normal or slightly above normal amounts of precipitation last week, the rest of the region including Central Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Northern Mississippi, and Tennessee experienced precipitation totals well below normal. Due to this, one-class degradations were experienced at a large scale in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northern Mississippi, and Tennessee. Overall these widespread degradation in the region have led to the expansion of moderate to exceptional drought (D1-D4), from 66% of the region on October 10th, to 71% on October 17th.

Looking into the future, as outlined by the Climate Prediction Centers, 6-10 Day Precipitation Outlook the entirety of the southern climate region is expected to see above-normal precipitation amounts, with the highest chances in West Texas. This above-normal precipitation should lead to widespread improvements across Texas and help keep degradations at bay in Mississippi and Tennessee.