Contact: Doug Kluck (doug.kluck@noaa.gov) Central Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook| December 2012 

www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/reports

Quarterly Climate Impacts 

and Outlook

Percent of Normal Precipitation (%)

9/1/2012 - 11/30/2012

Soil Moisture Anomaly

11/29/2012

Departure from Normal Temperature (F)

9/1/2012 - 11/30/2012

Regional - Climate Overview for September - November 2012

Central Region

December 2012

National - Significant Events for September - November 2012

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies Soil Moisture

Highlights for the 

Central Region

The remnants of Hurricane Isaac moved across the 

central Midwest on Labor Day weekend bringing heavy 

rain to areas from Missouri eastward. This resulted in a 

significant improvement to the drought in those areas.

The ongoing drought contributed to a large dust storm 

on October 17-18 in portions of Wyoming, Colorado, 

Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Winds were 

sustained at 35-45 mph with gusts to 70 mph. Reduced 

visibilities from the dust forced the closure of parts of 

three Interstate highways in the affected states. Effects 

were also felt in South Dakota and western Missouri.

The levels of Lakes Michigan and Huron are trending 

toward record lows due to a combination of low 

precipitation in the basin and warm lake surface 

temperatures leading to high evaporation from the 

lake surface. 

Sixty-five percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop is 

currently in drought-affected areas.

Soil moisture across much of the central 

U.S. was well below normal at the end of the 

month. This map depicts the total column soil 

moisture anomaly in millimeters (25.4 mm 

= 1 inch), according to a NOAA soil moisture 

model (NLDAS). At the end of November the 

U. S. Drought Monitor (next page) depicted 

“Extreme” to “Exceptional” (i.e., D3 and D4) 

Drought across most of Kansas, Nebraska, the 

southern two-thirds of South Dakota, eastern 

Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and portions of 

Iowa and Minnesota. 

Precipitation during the fall period was below 

normal across most of the region. An area of 

pronounced dryness was evident from Kansas 

northward through South Dakota, Minnesota, 

Wyoming, and Colorado, with most areas 

receiving less than 50 percent of normal 

precipitation. Precipitation from central 

Nebraska through central South Dakota was 

less than 25 percent of normal for the threemonth period. The northern half of North 

Dakota and an area from northern Missouri 

through central Indiana received normal to 

above normal precipitation.

Average daily temperatures during the fall 

ranged from 1°F to 4°F below normal over the 

eastern two-thirds of the region, and near to 

slightly above normal in the western one-third. 

Southern Wyoming experienced temperatures 

that were 3°F to 4°F above normal. October 

temperatures were 1°F to 4°F below normal 

across the entire region, while September 

and November patterns were similar to the 

seasonal temperature pattern.
Contact: Doug Kluck (doug.kluck@noaa.gov) Central Region Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook| December 2012 

www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/reports

Regional Outlook - for Winter 2012 - 2013

Regional Impacts for September - November 2012

Central Region Partners

Top: Streamflow percentiles in the central 

U.S. at the end of November from the U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Maps from the USDA/NRCS National Water 

and Climate Center 

(www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snowcourse).

Right: The Mississippi River at Columbus, 

Kentucky, looking south. 

(Photo by Stuart Foster).

Agriculture

The dry weather in the fall promoted early maturity of crops and 

resulted in a rapid harvest season. However, the drought continues 

to have serious negative impacts. Winter wheat emergence has 

been quite slow across the region. The USDA said that at the end of 

November wheat in 18 states rated 26 percent very poor or poor, 41 

percent fair and 33 percent good or excellent. These are the worst 

ratings since 1985. 

Water Resources

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun its winter release 

schedule on the Missouri River to try to maintain water in the 

upper system for next year. This, along with current drought 

impacts, will have further effects on river levels and on flow in 

the Mississippi River 

Transportation

Mississippi River levels are expected to reach record lows in late 

December. This will severely curtail barge traffic south of St. 

Louis as the 9-foot deep navigation channel will not be able to 

be maintained. The American Waterways Operators estimates 

that $2.3 billion of agricultural products, $1.8 billion in chemicals, 

and $1.3 billion of petroleum products normally travels down the 

Mississippi in December and January. A number of states have 

asked the government to divert more water from the Missouri 

River to the Mississippi River to prevent barge traffic from 

shutting down due to low water levels.

Drought Expected to Persist 

through Winter Months

Little change in the status of drought across 

the central U.S. is expected through February 

2013. The U.S. Drought Outlook released on 

December 20 for the period January 1 through 

March 31 indicates that little improvement is 

expected over the core of the worst drought 

areas. Some improvement is expected on the 

eastern fringe of the current drought area, 

roughly along the Mississippi River. Some 

improvement is also expected on the northern 

periphery of the drought area.

U.S. Drought Monitor

The cold season is typically the driest portion of 

the year in the Midwest and Great Plains so even 

with average or slightly above normal winter 

precipitation there will not likely be much relief from 

the drought. This has implications for water supply, 

river navigation, and agriculture into the spring. 

In addition moisture is desperately needed for the 

already stressed winter wheat crop in the Central 

and Northern Plains. In summary, an already very dry 

region continued to see below normal precipitation 

this fall. Without adequate precipitation to recharge 

soil moisture over the next few months there will 

likely not be enough reserve moisture for crops 

through the 2013 growing season. In addition, above 

normal snowpack in the Rockies is needed this 

winter and spring in order to help alleviate systemwide water storage deficits.

Midwestern Regional Climate Center

mrcc.isws.illinois.edu

High Plains Regional Climate Center

www.hprcc.unl.edu

National Drought Mitigation Center

drought.unl.edu

National Integrated Drought Information 

System (NIDIS)

www.drought.gov

State Climatologists

www.stateclimate.org

National Weather Service Central Region

www.crh.noaa.gov/crh

North Central River Forecast Center

www.crh.noaa.gov/ncrfc

Missouri Basin River Forecast Center

www.crh.noaa.gov/mbrfc

National Climatic Data Center

www.ncdc.noaa.gov

NWS Climate Prediction Center

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

Climate Science Program, Iowa State 

University

climate.engineering.iastate.edu

WaterSMART Clearinghouse, U.S. Dept. of 

Interior

www.doi.gov/watersmart/html/index.php

Western Governors’ Association

westgov.org

November 30,2012