With the climatological transition from the wet season to the dry season across the West, small areas of pre-existing drought in southern California and southern Arizona are favored to persist in April.

Climatology for April favors increased precipitation across the Great Plains, and either improvement or removal of drought conditions for many areas. A possible exception includes the south-central High Plains which has been missing out on much of the recent precipitation. Drought development is possible for portions of western and extreme southern Texas.

Drought improvement and/or removal is predicted for the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, the Interior Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast, based primarily on expected precipitation during the first week of April. A fairly dry pattern is expected for much of the remainder of the month.

For the southern Atlantic Coast, including most of peninsular Florida, pre-existing drought is forecast to persist, while drought development is expected to fill in across some areas. This is normally the height of the dry season for Florida.

For the leeward slopes of the Big Island of Hawaii, drought is predicted to persist, as the climatological dry season ensues.


Forecaster: Anthony Artusa


Next Monthly Outlook issued: April 30, 2017 at 3pm EDT