Outlook: Not much in the way of rain is expected although temperatures should remain below normal over the next five to ten days across most of the Southeast. In the next 5 days however, parts of Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana could see 1-3 inches of rain. After that, things should remain dry into the middle of December.

The Ohio Valley, Midwest, and Plains: Warm and dry conditions returned to this region after seeing much needed rain last week. Severe drought (D2) persists and has expanded to include most of Indiana, southern Illinois, eastern Missouri, western Ohio and most of Kentucky. Streamflow conditions across almost all of this region continue to be historically low and topsoil moisture remains very short across most of the Corn Belt.

While temperatures in the region varied from 6-12F above normal, little precipitation was seen and soil moisture deficits are of great concern across the northern and western Plains states. Missouri and Nebraska were reporting more than 90% of topsoil moisture conditions as short to very short as of November 28. Moderate rains helped in eastern Oklahoma and Kansas although conditions are still quite dry across most of Oklahoma.

Outlook: The two systems coming out of the Rockies over the next few days should bring light to moderate rains and some snow to parts of the Midwest and points eastward. The heart of the Corn Belt could see anywhere from 1-3 inches of rain out of these storms if they're lucky.

The northern Plains states are not expected to benefit much from this week's storms, certainly not enough to help alleviate the severe drought (D2) conditions found across eastern Nebraska, northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. As the soils start to freeze, the area can expect to remain in this severe drought until Spring. Temperatures are expected to remain above normal over the next 6-10 days.

The West: While the Pacific NW experienced warm and wet conditions during the past week, the Southwest had cooler and drier weather. Generally, very little has changed across the region lately although fire concerns have generally been eased. There are still abnormally dry (D0) pockets that are of concern in some winter wheat growing regions in WA, OR and MT.

Outlook: As this report was being written, two storm systems were poised to cross the Great Basin into the Rockies and Great Plains over the weekend. The first storm has already brought good snowfall to the northern Sierras and was to cross Utah and Colorado by December 2. Another strong storm is coming down from the Pacific NW, bringing with it the hope of ending a slow snow season start in the Wasatch Mountains and central Rockies by the weekend.

Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico: Beneficial rains fell on the Big Island (Hawaii) during the last week but little was seen elsewhere in the state as Hawaii slowly shows some signs of improvement in their long-term drought situation.

There are no significant dryness problems in Alaska or Puerto Rico.

Outlook: Hawaii should continue to see gradual improvement over the next few months as seasonal rainfall increases.