The East, South, and Midwest: During September 4 - 12, widespread rains of 2 to locally 10 inches drenched most areas east of the Appalachians from North Carolina northward, abetting continued drought recovery. Agricultural and wildfire impacts have been mitigated, and hydrologic drought has eased. About 57 percent of New England streamflows were in the lowest 10 percentile for September 5, but only 6 percent were similarly low by September 13. Farther west, 2 to 7 inches of rain doused parts of the upper southern Plains, providing Oklahoma and adjacent areas with relief from recent dryness. Meanwhile, scattered moderate rains (1 to 3 inches) kept drought conditions from deteriorating in the Gulf Coast states and Georgia; however, little or no rain fell on the upper Southeast, the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, and the southeastern Great Lakes region. These areas are now experiencing the nation's most serious drought (D3). Many locations received 3 to 8 inches less rainfall than normal from late July through early September, and a few sites in Kentucky recorded under 1 inch. Even 365 day rainfall deficits, which had been largest in the middle Atlantic states, were now most notable (10 to 18 inches) in the interior Southeast and parts of the lower Northeast. On September 13, most streamflows were in the lowest 10 percentile for the date in Georgia (80 percent) and South Carolina (73 percent), and many unharvested crops were severely stressed. Hurricane Floyd provided some relief along the immediate south Atlantic coast September 13 - 14, but while rains were heavy (1.0 to 3.5 inches), they were not enough to eradicate drought. Substantial proportions of the following crops were in poor or very poor condition on September 10: Sorghum in Missouri (41 percent); cotton in Alabama (45 percent) and Tennessee (50 percent); and soybeans in Georgia (53 percent), Missouri (58 percent), Kentucky (62 percent), Alabama (68 percent), and Tennessee (75 percent).

Outlook: Hurricane Floyd should drop heavy rains (2 to locally 8 inches) on the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coastal plain September 14 - 17, allowing progressive drought relief to continue. In the core drought regions, the next 10 days will start out dry, but increasing precipitation may bring some relief later.

The West: Dry weather dominated the region during September 4 - 12, with measurable rain (0.1 to 0.7 inches) restricted to the northwest Rockies. As a result, the active wildfire season continued. From the start of 1999 through September 13, 4.6 million acres were scorched nationally (70 percent more than the average of the previous 10 such periods). More than half of this total (2.4 million acres) were in the Great Basin or California.

Outlook: No appreciable changes expected for the next 10 days.

The Non-contiguous U.S.: Long-term dryness persisted across Hawaii. Leeward sections of the Big Island and most of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai received only 25 percent to 50 percent of normal rain since the beginning of the year. In Guam, 45 percent of annual rains (40 of 89 inches) fall during August - October. August 1999 was dry (5.5 inches below normal), but above normal rains in July and early September mitigated potential impacts for now. Alaska and Puerto Rico are not experiencing large scale drought.

Outlook: No appreciable changes expected for the next 10 days.