Severe to exceptional drought continued throughout much of the western United States, with limited relief confined to the narrow coastal margin of California, Oregon and Washington.

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Drought persisted in southeast Australia, particularly New South Wales and Victoria during early February 2003. In New South Wales, 97 percent of the province was in the grip of severe rainfall shortages, with 71 percent of the country as a whole in severe drought (Australian Bureau of Meteorology).

Numerous wildfires continued to burn across parts of New South Wales in early February, aggravated by the unusually dry conditions.

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While much of southeastern Australia received beneficial rains during the last half of February, long-term deficiencies continued as December-February rainfall in Sydney was less than half the normal amount.

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Drought conditions affected much of southern Africa, including Botswana, Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa. In Botswana, only 4 percent of available land for cultivation was ploughed this rainy season due to drought (UN IRIN).

In Somalia, maximum temperatures on the 2nd soared to 38°C (100°F) in Burao, which is over 10°C (18°F) above normal.

In North Africa, a dust storm affected Libya around the 6th, with a large plume of airborne dust transported northward over the Mediterranean Sea.

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The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Beni moved into northeastern Australia on the 5th and produced locally heavy rainfall. Across coastal areas of Queensland, as much as 30 cm (12 inches) of rain fell which brought flooding to areas around Rockhampton (Associated Press).

In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, heavy rains on the 13th caused flooding that affected 10,000 homes and produced traffic chaos throughout the city. Flooding and landslides throughout the country killed around 60 people since December 2002 (Associated Press).

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Heavy rainfall in portions of Mozambique during early February produced flooding that left about 100,000 families homeless, destroyed crops and severely damaged roads and bridges (Associated Press). A period of above normal rainfall that began in late January from the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Delfina continued in February.

In Pakistan, heavy rain and snow produced flooding around the17th that was responsible for more than 60 deaths (BBC News). In Balochistan province, flash flooding washed away parts of roads and highways.

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In neighboring Afghanistan, heavy rain and snow alleviated long-term drought conditions. Winter precipitation in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan was the heaviest in the last 5 years.

Despite above normal precipitation during the month of February, winter precipitation remained subnormal in the capital city of Kabul.

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Heavy rainfall associated with the same storm system that brought very heavy snowfall to the eastern seaboard of the United States during February 15-17 also caused severe flooding in eastern Kentucky. Numerous rivers rose above flood stage, causing flooding in many communities.

For an archive of flood events worldwide, see the Dartmouth Flood Observatory.

A tornado that was responsible for over 100 deaths struck remote areas of the central Democratic Republic of Congo on the 2nd, affecting 6 villages in the District of Yumbi, Bandundu province (Associated Press). The tornado injured another 1,700 people, more than 200 critically, as it impacted an area located about 250 km (150 miles) northeast of the capital of Kinshasa (Associated Press).

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In western India, severe thunderstorms on the 18th in the town of Dholatar in Gujarat state destroyed 28 houses, killing at least 5 people (CIP report). The storm also disrupted power in region, knocking down nearly 11,000 power poles.

Tropical Cyclone Japhet developed off the west coast of Madagascar on the 26th and was located over the Mozambique Channel on the 27th with maximum sustained winds near 110 km/hr (60 knots or 70 mph).

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Tropical Cyclone Fiona pushed south of Java during the 5th-6th, but locally heavy rains fell on the island. Maximum sustained winds with the cyclone reached as high as 185 km/hr (100 knots or 115 mph) over open waters of the Indian Ocean on the 8th-9th.

Tropical Cyclone Gerry developed off the northeast coast of Madagascar on the 9th and was located just north of the Mascarene Islands on the 13th with maximum sustained winds of 185 km/hr (100 knots or 115 mph). Over 178 mm (7 inches) of rain had fallen on Reunion Island on the 13th as Gerry passed to the northeast of the island. Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Hape was located farther to the east over open Indian Ocean waters and dissipated by the 15th.

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A Pacific storm system moved into the Southwest U.S. during February 11-13th, dumping heavy rains on parts of southern California eastward into adjacent areas of Nevada and Arizona. After a 6-week dry spell, up to 178 mm (7 inches) of rain fell on parts of southern California which broke some daily rainfall records and caused localized flooding. At Las Vegas, Nevada, 19 mm (0.74 in) of rain fell on the 12th, which was the 3rd wettest calendar day since November 21, 1996.

Another weather system tracked into the U.S. Southwest during the 25th-26th, bringing locally heavy rain and mountain snow to parts of the Four Corners region.

A powerful winter storm that affected much of the eastern half of the United States during February 15-17 dumped heavy accumulations of snow across much of the Ohio Valley eastward through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Snowfall accumulations of 30-61 cm (1-2 feet) were common, with snowfall amounts exceeding 89 cm (35 inches) in parts of northeastern West Virginia.

Post-Storm Photo From Perry Hall, MD

Radar Animation (Courtesy UCAR)

Numerous all-time snowfall records were broken, including Baltimore and Boston. The storm system brought the heaviest snow accumulations to the East Coast since the Blizzard of 1996. Farther to the south, subfreezing temperatures extending into the Carolinas brought sleet and freezing rain to the parts of the region. The storm closed numerous airports in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and severely hampered transportation.

A winter storm swept across the U.S. southern plains during the 24th-25th, with ice and snow across north Texas and from Oklahoma eastward into Arkansas and southern Missouri. At least 15 people were killed in the region due to adverse winter weather (Reuters).

In Canada, cold temperatures in Newfoundland froze floodwaters which affected the town of Badger. The Exploits, Red Indian and Badger rivers flooded the town as ice jams gave way on the 15th. By the 17th, temperatures as low as -20°C (-4°F) froze much of the standing water, encasing cars, snowmobiles and some homes in ice. Most of Badger's 1,100 residents were evacuated during the 15-16th after a state of emergency was declared (Associated Press).

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In eastern Canada, freezing rain that affected New Brunswick on the 2nd caused thousands of power outages, and cost the provincial electrical utility New Brunswick Power between $3-4 million (USD) in damage repair (Canadian Press). A power company spokesman characterized the ice storm as the worst in the utility's history, eclipsing the cost of the 1998 ice storm in New Brunswick.

Europe/Asia Snow Cover Loop

A winter storm brought heavy snow to parts of Jordan, Israel and Lebanon during the 24-26th and was characterized as the heaviest snowfall since 1950 for parts of the region. Locally over 20 cm (8 inches) of snow accumulated, disrupting transportation and closing schools and business throughout the area. Snowfall across interior Europe was unusually heavy during late February 2003.

References:

Basist, A., N.C. Grody, T.C. Peterson and C.N. Williams, 1998: Using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager to Monitor Land Surface Temperatures, Wetness, and Snow Cover. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 37, 888-911.

Peterson, Thomas C. and Russell S. Vose, 1997: An overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network temperature data base. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 78, 2837-2849.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue, Room 120
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov

For more information, refer also to ...
January 2003 Hazards and Significant Events
Selected U.S. City and State Extremes
2002 Atlantic Hurricanes
2002 U.S. Wildfire Summary
SSMI Derived Products
Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)
The Blended GHCN - SSM/I Product
The Global Temperature Anomalies
CLIMVIS - Global Summary of the Day
CAMS data provided by the Climate Prediction Center
Geographic Reference Maps (pdf format)

Scott Stephens
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Scott.Stephens@noaa.gov

Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov

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