Weekly Weather Summary: 22-28 June 2009

Barry Keim/ State Climatologist / keim@lsu.edu

(Based on preliminary reports received from approximately
120 NWS Cooperative sites from across the state)

...Drought Takes Hold of Southern Louisiana, Northern Parishes not far Behind...

The week opened on 22 June with an upper-air ridge over the south-central United States, including Louisiana. This ridge remained intact for the entire week, bringing stable and relatively dry conditions to the State. On the 22^nd, Louisiana also had high pressure at the surface. The surface high pressure remained intact midway through the 24^th, when return flow began to dominate. On the 24^th, highly scattered thunderstorms produced a damaging wind report in St. Tammany Parish where several trees were blown down. For the remainder of the week (25-28 June), surface pressure patterns were weak, and cloudcover and rain sparse. Several locations across the State recorded temperatures of 100°F or more, and New Orleans International Airport broke record high temperatures on 5 days, and recorded the highest temperature ever measured in the month on June at 101°F on the 24^th.

For the week, Statewide precipitation averaged 0.2 inches, which was 1.0 inch below normal. The U.S. Drought Monitor now classifies southeastern Louisiana in Moderate Drought. Expect this region (and the Abnormally Dry region) to grow within the State with the next iteration of the Drought Monitor. Also, note the soil moisture conditions in the map below, whereby many Parishes have soil moisture that is “short” or “very short” of need. Louisiana's temperature averaged 86°F, which was 5°F above normal.