Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisof (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Northeast Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2017

www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports

Quarterly Climate Impacts 

and Outlook

Northeast Region

March 2017

National - Signifcant Events for December 2016–February 2017

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies 

Regional - Climate Overview for December 2016–February 2017

Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)

December 1, 2016–February 28, 2017

Departure from Normal Temperature (°F)

December 1, 2016–February 28, 2017

January

Highlights for the Northeast

Drought conditons lingered, but generally improved 

during winter. For details, see Climate Overview and 

Impacts sectons.

A nor’easter dropped several inches of sleet in Maine 

from January 24–26. The Natonal Weather Service said, 

“It was likely one of the biggest sleet storms in northern 

Maine during the past 75 years.” Elsewhere, strong winds 

and rough seas led to coastal fooding and beach erosion. 

Three storms brought heavy snow to New England in 

February. On February 9, blizzard conditons occurred for 

up to seven hours at 38 sites in New Jersey, New York, 

and New England. Thundersnow was reported, as well. 

A storm from February 12–13 dropped up to 40 inches 

of snow, with the greatest totals in Maine. A third storm, 

from February 15–16, dropped up to 21 inches of snow. 

On the 16th, Andover, ME, had 79 inches, or 6.6 feet, of 

snow on the ground, which was the second greatest oneday snow depth on record for Maine.

Four tornadoes and winds of up to 100 mph from 

thunderstorms downed hundreds of trees and damaged 

dozens of structures on February 25. Massachusets had 

its frst February tornado.

Nineteen sites had their warmest February on record, 

while Dulles Airport, VA, had its warmest winter. Seven 

sites had their warmest February day or winter day on 

record on February 24 or 25.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released on 

December 1 showed 54% of the Northeast and 

3% of Ohio in a moderate, severe, or extreme 

drought. Conditons eased during the month 

so that by early January, 44% of the region 

was in a drought and Ohio was drought-free. 

Conditons contnued to improve and by 

early February, 35% of the Northeast was in 

a drought. In February, conditons improved 

in portons of New York and New England, 

but deteriorated in Maryland, Delaware, 

and southern New Jersey. Dry conditons 

contributed to a few wildfres in the MidAtlantc. By early March, the region was free of 

extreme drought for the frst tme since early 

August 2016.

The Northeast received 109% of normal 

precipitaton during winter. Five states, plus 

Ohio, were weter than normal. December

precipitaton was 111% of normal for the 

Northeast. Six states were weter than normal, 

as was Ohio. In January, the Northeast 

received 119% of normal precipitaton. 

Seven states and Ohio saw above-normal 

precipitaton. February precipitaton was 90% 

of normal for the Northeast. Eight states and 

Ohio were drier than normal, with fve ranking 

this February among their top 20 driest since 

1895.

The Northeast had its ffh warmest winter

since 1895 at 4.7°F above normal. This 

winter ranked within the top eight warmest 

for all twelve Northeast states and Ohio. In 

December, the Northeast was 0.7°F warmer 

than normal. Eleven states experienced abovenormal temperatures, while Maine and Ohio 

were colder than normal. The Northeast had 

its ninth warmest January on record at 6.7°F 

above normal. This January ranked within the 

top 14 warmest for all twelve Northeast states 

and Ohio. The Northeast had a record warm 

February at 6.6°F above normal. Six states 

were record warm, as was Ohio. The other six 

states ranked it among their top 12 warmest. 

Drought in the Northeast

Normals based on 1981–2010

The contguous U.S. had its sixth warmest winter on record with an average temperature of 35.9°F, 

3.7°F above the 20th century average. December's average temperature of 32.9°F was 0.2°F above 

average, while January's average temperature of 33.6°F was 3.5°F above average. February's 

average temperature of 41.2°F was 7.3°F above average, making it the second warmest on record. 

The contguous U.S. had its eighth wetest winter on record with 8.22 inches precipitaton, 1.43 

inches above average. The U.S. precipitaton total for December was 2.69 inches, 0.34 inches 

above average. The U.S. had its ninth wetest January on record with 3.18 inches of precipitaton, 

which was 0.87 inches above average. February precipitaton totaled 2.21 inches, 0.08 inches 

above average.

U.S. Drought Monitor

March 14, 2017

December
Regional - Impacts and Updates for December 2016–February 2017

Contacts: Ellen Mecray (Ellen.L.Mecray@noaa.gov)

     Samantha Borisof (sgh58@cornell.edu)

Northeast Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook|March 2017 

www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports

Regional - Outlook for Spring 2017 Northeast Region Partners

Natonal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton

www.noaa.gov

Natonal Centers for Environmental Informaton

www.ncei.noaa.gov

Natonal Weather Service, Eastern Region

www.weather.gov

NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and

Regional Ofces, Atlantc

www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Ofce for Coastal Management

www.oceanservice.noaa.gov

NOAA Research, Climate Program Ofce and

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab

www.research.noaa.gov

NOAA Natonal Sea Grant Ofce

www.seagrant.noaa.gov

NOAA’s North Atlantc and Great Lakes

Regional Collaboraton Teams

www.regions.noaa.gov

Climate Predicton Center

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

Natonal Operatonal Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center

www.nohrsc.noaa.gov

Northeast Regional Climate Center

www.nrcc.cornell.edu

Natonal Integrated Drought Informaton System

www.drought.gov

Consortum on Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast

www.ccrun.org

Cooperatve Insttute for North Atlantc Research

www.cinar.org

Northeast Region State Climatologists

www.stateclimate.org

Mid-Atlantc RISA

www.midatlantcrisa.org

#regionalclimateoutlooks

Temperature and 

Precipitation

A

NOAA's Climate 

Predicton Center is 

calling for an increased 

chance of above-normal 

temperatures (lef map) 

for the Northeast and Ohio 

for April–June.

The April–June 

precipitaton outlook 

calls for equal chances of 

below-, near, or abovenormal precipitaton.

ENSO

In February, sea surface temperatures in the 

equatorial Pacifc Ocean and atmospheric 

conditons indicated ENSO-neutral conditons 

were present. NOAA's Climate Predicton 

Center indicates there's around a 60% chance 

that ENSO-neutral conditons will contnue 

through spring. Afer that, the chances of El 

Niño increase to around 50% by autumn.

40

A: Above-normal

EC: Equal chances of 

above-, near, or belownormal 

#: Probability of abovenormal

Streamfow on the region's waterways was 

generally near to below normal in December, near 

to above normal in January, and ranged from much 

below normal to much above normal in February. 

Groundwater and reservoir levels increased slowly 

during winter, returning to near normal in some areas, 

but remaining below normal in other areas. 

• During winter, drought declaratons were lifed in 

Kingston, NY, and Ipswich, MA, because their water 

supplies had recharged. 

• Worcester, MA’s reservoir system was at 52.1% of 

capacity on December 1 and 56.0% by January 1. 

On January 23, the city’s drought status improved

to a drought warning from a drought emergency, 

which had been in place since September 2016. 

By March 1, the reservoir system was at 83.2% of 

capacity compared its average of 94.1%. 

• The New York City reservoir system was at 59.3% 

of capacity on December 7. By March 2, it was up 

to 88.9% compared to normal capacity of 87.2%. 

• On January 18, the Delaware River Basin 

Commission lifed the drought watch for the basin, 

returning it to normal status.

• With Aquarion Water Company's Connectcut 

reservoirs well below normal, the Department 

of Public Health issued a second water supply 

emergency in early March for four cites the 

company services. The company asked its water 

users to reduce indoor use by 20%.

A

Drought

The U.S. Drought 

Outlook for March 16–

June 30, 2017, indicates 

that drought conditons 

are expected to remain 

but improve in southern 

New Hampshire, western 

Massachusets, western 

Connectcut, and portons 

of southeastern New York, 

northern New Jersey, 

and southern Maryland. 

Drought conditons are 

expected to ease in the rest of the region.

Drought December snowfall ranged from more than 12 inches 

below normal to more than 18 inches above normal. 

January snowfall was below normal for much of the 

region, except in coastal areas from eastern Maryland 

to southeastern Massachusets. In February, snowfall 

ranged from more than 12 inches below normal to 

more than 24 inches above normal. Baltmore, MD, 

and Huntngton, WV, ted their records for least snowy 

February, receiving only a trace (less than 0.1 inch) of 

snow. For winter, snowfall was below normal for many 

areas, with the main exceptons being southeast of Lake 

Erie and in eastern New England.

Warm winter temperatures had numerous impacts. 

With low ice cover on the Great Lakes, there were several 

large lake-event snow events. On January 5, over two 

feet of snow fell in 6–8 hours in Bufalo, NY's southern 

suburbs. Snowfall rates of 4–5 inches per hour snarled 

the evening commute. Hundreds of children were 

stranded at school or on buses. At least ten snowmobilers 

died this winter afer falling through thin ice. Ski resorts 

in the Mid-Atlantc altered operatons or closed weeks 

early, while Maine resorts saw a boost. Also, the maple 

season started earlier than usual. The Northeast has seen 

a trend towards warmer winters. Five of the region's 

warmest winters, including this year, have occurred since 

1997–98. The Climate Resilience Toolkit is a resource to 

help people understand and address climate-related risks 

and opportunites, such as warming winters. 

Winter Summary

Winter (December–February) snowfall 

departure from normal in inches.

Spring Flood Potential

The river food potental 

during spring is generally 

near or below average for 

much of the Northeast. In 

Maine and northern New 

Hampshire, minor fooding 

is possible due to a deep 

snowpack and extensive 

river ice. Minor fooding is 

also possible in portons of 

northern Ohio. Very heavy 

rain can cause fooding 

at any tme of the year, 

even in areas experiencing 

drought or that have litle 

to no snow on the ground.

February streamfow from USGS. 

50