Half an inch to 2 inches of precipitation fell across much of the Northeast this week, with locally heavier amounts across New Jersey and southern New York. Drought contracted or was reduced in intensity in parts of the West and Midwest, but expanded or intensified in the southern Plains, central High Plains, and Southeast. Temperatures averaged cooler than normal in California and the northern Plains to Upper Mississippi Valley. Weekly temperatures were warmer than normal in the Pacific Northwest to northern and central Rockies, the southern Plains to Gulf of Mexico coast, and along the eastern seaboard. The rest of the CONUS was drier than normal, with little to no precipitation falling across much of the Southwest, central and southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley to Southeast, northern reaches of the Upper Mississippi Valley, and northern Maine. Groundwater, reservoir levels, and longer-term (9-month to 72-month) SPI indicators still indicated very dry long-term drought conditions in the West and northern Plains. Other drought indicators, such as vegetation-based VHI and VegDRI, were slower to respond. The precipitation improved short-term conditions, especially in the West, with soil moisture, streamflow, and 1-month to 6-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) indicators sliding into the wet categories. The end result of these weather systems was above-normal precipitation for the week across much of the West, including the Pacific Northwest, California, Nevada, and the central to northern Rocky Mountains across eastern portions of the northern and central Plains, the southern Great Lakes, and western and southern portions of the Northeast and a band of precipitation from southeast Kansas to eastern Kentucky. The October 24th pressure was 942.5 mb, which is a record low pressure for the Pacific Northwest. According to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, as the third low pressure system approached the Pacific Northwest coast, it set a pressure record, testifying to the strength of the system. Fed by an atmospheric river of Pacific moisture, its surface low and front left heavy precipitation across California with widespread rain and some high elevation snow from California and the Pacific Northwest to the Great Basin. The third system slammed into the West Coast near the end of the week. Its surface low weakened as it crossed the Rockies, but it was re-energized over the Plains and generated precipitation across the central Plains, Great Lakes, and Northeast. The second brought precipitation to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. The first system early in the week spread precipitation across Wyoming to the Upper Mississippi Valley, then left scattered showers over the Northeast before moving off into the Atlantic.
A series of strong Pacific weather systems moved across the contiguous U.S.
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