Hope you all have had a great holiday season! It’s always amazing how quickly the year goes by… Here is a look at the total precipitation anomaly measured in inches, that was observed for 2023.

As you can see, there were some very dry areas across parts of Texas, the Gulf Coast Region and surrounding areas in the Plains. In terms of overall drought, the latest Drought Monitor shows that there are areas still experiencing significant drought.

A lot of what you see is cumulative and over a longer period of time, especially across Louisiana and Mississippi. Farther west, things have been in better shape lately… That begs the question about what is to come…

The latest EURO seasonal model precipitation anomaly forecast for January through March shows this:

I am somewhat skeptical of the dryness it is forecasting across north Texas and eastern Oklahoma. However, I think it is right on with the wetness along the Gulf Coast.

 The temperature trend from the same model, looks like this:

While the model is essentially forecasting average temperatures for the January through March period, I do think there will be some cold to contend with in January and February. Will it be significant? Likely not, but certainly more significant than we’ve seen thus far…

More on what lies ahead for 2024 next month!