The first month of meteorological winter 2020-21 was much warmer than normal. HOWEVER, due to cold spikes related to increased snow cover or surface wind advecting over snow cover (and into the Southeast U.S.) plus above normal number of cloudy days much of the eastern third of the U.S. observed near to above normal heating degree days.

Dry soil conditions are widespread in the West and Central U.S. most profound in California, Utah, Texas and the Western Corn Belt. The driest seasonal change is across the Mid-South U.S. Fortunately, a wetter and more snowy pattern change is ahead for the Wet and Central U.S.

A busy NOAA/NWS weather watch, warning and advisory map? A major Christmas Eve storm erupts in the East today/tonight bringing severe thunderstorms to the coastal Mid-Atlantic region, high wind causing poser outages for the northern Mid-Atlantic into New England and flash flooding caused by heavy rain from Virginia to Maine. Heavy snow on the back side of the storm targets West Virginia to Ohio.

Mid-to-late summer regional soil moisture deficit in the deep layers (10-200 CM) are a key diagnostic for monitoring potential flash drought risk. If a period of 7-10 days (or more) of dry and anomalous hot weather occur over these regions a fast-emerging drought will develop.