Summary:
- A cooler than average January occurred over much of the western US.
- January remained dry in the south and turned quite dry over the vast majority of the rest of the west.
- Drought conditions worsened in California, the southwest, and western Washington. Snow water equivalents
across watersheds in the west are quite mixed, with very low amounts in California and the southwest, above
average amounts in northern California, Oregon, and portions of the Great Basin and Rockies, and near average
across the central Rockies. - The coldest air of the winter is with us for the next ten days. Most areas in the west are likely to experience
below average temperatures and a continued chance for snow, snow/rain mix, or just rain depending on
location and elevation. - The overall forecast for February is pointing to a cool and wet month in the PNW and northern states and an
average to cool and dry month for California and the southwest. - The 90-day forecast heading into spring is being driven by some volatility in the Arctic and the current La Niña
and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation influences. The result is that the forecast points to a cooler and wetter winter
from northern California into the PNW and cool to near average and dry into southern California and the
southwest. Late winter periods such as this have historically brought higher spring frost risk for much of the
west.
