The storm delivered heavy rain and mountain snow to the West, snow and wind to parts of the Plains and upper Midwest, and severe weather and tornadoes to the mid-Mississippi valley and Southeast coast.
The precipitation with this storm brought improvements to drought areas in parts of the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley and helped to relieve long-term deficits in parts of the Intermountain West and Plains.
The only change to this week’s map was a small reduction in the abnormally dry depiction in northern Maine, where recent precipitation has been enough to replenish moisture deficits.
This week’s rain improved short-term precipitation deficits, replenished soil moisture conditions, and alleviated moderate drought conditions in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and northeast Florida.
Other than this moderate drought area, no other changes to drought were made, and the region remained drought free with the exception of the Texas Panhandle and northeast Oklahoma.
High Plains Moderate to heavy precipitation from this weekend’s storm, in the forms of rain and wind driven snow, fell roughly from the western reaches of the Dakotas to the northern half of Kansas.
Moderate drought and abnormal dryness remain in those areas still experiencing low groundwater levels, soil moisture shortages, and long-term precipitation deficits.
Below normal rainfall in Puerto Rico combined with spotty reports of low streamflow and groundwater data continue to support the depiction of D0 in the south central part of the Island.
In Alaska, precipitation in the drought affected areas of the Panhandle was not enough to reduce the long-term deficits.
In between these two storm systems, a ridge in the jet stream will deliver dry conditions to the Plains and Midwest.

The percentage of the U.S. affected by drought has fallen 15 of the past 16 weeks and are now at the lowest levels since September 2017.
In the Midwest, which the U.S. Drought Monitor defines as Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, drought is only present in 1.9% of the region, appearing in small portions of northern Minnesota and southwest Missouri.
The Plains, which the U.S. Drought Monitor defines as Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, are more severely affected – with 30.7% of the region currently affected.
That includes 27.1% of the state suffering from the two most severe drought categories, D3 (extreme) and D4 (exceptional).
Left unchecked, severe drought will cause longer term hydrological and ecological affects.
Most of the country’s current drought is parked in the western part of the country, where 74.4% of the region is affected.
More than 50 million Americans live in the portions of this region afflicted by drought.
“Elsewhere, another storm system is expected to move in from the Pacific early next week, bringing additional precipitation to the west coast states.
In between these two storm systems, a ridge in the jet stream will deliver dry conditions to the Plains and Midwest.” NOAA’s monthly precipitation outlook for December also hints at further recovery throughout the rest of this month.
Wetter-than-normal conditions are probable throughout the West, South, Southeast, Midwest and Plains this month, although seasonally dry weather is more likely across parts of the upper Midwest.

Drought preparedness Seasonal differences aside, overall, the nation’s farmers indicated they felt prepared to navigate the impacts of drought.
“But even the best strategies become harder to execute the more prolonged, and severe, the drought is and there are parts of Queensland and New South Wales that have been facing adverse seasons for a number of years now.” The latest survey, completed in November, found the percentage of Australian farmers expecting conditions in the agricultural economy to deteriorate in the coming 12 months edged back to 40pc – from 56pc who held that view in the September quarter.
Mr Knoblanche said the more positive sentiment in the eastern states had come off the back of good rains, with some drought-affected areas receiving their best falls for the year.
“There have been significant rains in parts of the Darling Downs and south-west Queensland as well as parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania,” he said.
“While it is a good start, and will assist with the planting of the summer crop, it hasn’t been enough to materially improve soil moisture profiles, which remain deficient across much of eastern Australia.” With the rains falling too late to bolster winter crop prospects, he said: “If it were not for the late break in the season over in Western Australia, we would be harvesting the smallest winter crop in two decades – with grain production more than halved in New South Wales and Queensland.” Farm business performance and investment In line with overall confidence levels, the nation’s farmers also revised up expectations for their own gross farm incomes in 2019 – although 42pc still anticipated a weaker financial result, a slight improvement on 49pc with that view in the previous survey.
This saw the WA farming sector holding the greatest investment appetite in the survey, with 34pc of the state’s producers looking to increase investment in their farm business over the coming 12 months – compared to the national average of 18pc.
“October was an exceptionally dry month in Tasmania, but since then, there have been some handy rains and if this continues we would expect to see a bounce in confidence early next year,” Mr Knoblanche said.
In contrast, Mr Knoblanche said three quarters of WA farmers expected the agricultural economy to either improve, or remain stable, with generally good to very good growing conditions experienced after the state’s late break bolstering winter crop prospects to around 15 million tonnes.
Cotton/grain confidence lift By surveyed commodity, confidence was also up across the board – although remained subdued – in all sectors except dairy, which posted a small decline with 55pc of the nation’s dairy farmers expecting conditions to deteriorate over the coming year.
“With the country expected to harvest its smallest winter crop in 10 years, domestic grain prices are likely to remain elevated well into 2019 and this is boding well for those who have been able to get a crop off, with producers also fetching good returns for crops that have had to be cut for hay or silage.” While beef and sheep sentiment also improved, seasonal concerns continued to be ‘front of mind’ as feed costs remain high and graziers face decisions around continuing to feed stock or to further de-stock.

While Arizona hasn’t said it would meet that deadline, a committee meeting on the issue announced Thursday it is making progress.
There’s lots of work to do on detail.” Arizona — long seen as the holdout among the river’s lower basin states — has been at a stalemate as it wrestled with how to compensate water users that are expected to face the deepest cuts when Lake Mead falls to a certain level or find water to replace those cuts.
Mexico also has agreed to cutbacks.
The proposal would help lessen the blow for Pinal County farmers, cities and tribes.
The Gila River Indian Community, which is entitled to a fourth of the Colorado River water that flows through the Central Arizona Project canals, said it won’t support any plan that undermines a water settlement it reached with the federal government in 2004.
The cost to fund the proposal is expected to top $100 million.
Funding an issue Gov.
Other drought proposals have been criticized for wanting to take water stored from Lake Mead to soften the blow of losing water around the state.
Funding also is available from the federal government.
Cooke and Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the committee will meet until members reach consensus.

More Geneva (AFP) – With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to "sell" young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday.
"Prior to the drought, over 80 percent of households were already in debt," she said, adding that many people who had hoped to pay off their debt when crops came in have been unable to do so.
Children are paying the price for conflict, children are paying the price for the drought," she said.
"It is very, very shocking," said Suraya Pakzad, who heads Voice of Women, Afghanistan.
"Girls aged between 8-12 years old (are being) sold to old men to solve the economic issues … of their families," she told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
She described speaking with a father who had "sold" his seven-year-old daughter into marriage, and who said he had no other choice.
I am suffering from that.
But can you give me some option?…
Particularly food," she added.
The UN refugee agency also said that the worst drought in decades has made a desperate situation worse.

Canyon and Payette counties in southwest Idaho have been designated primary natural disaster areas due to drought.
The designation allows the USDA Farm Service Agency to extend emergency credit to producers suffering from natural disasters.
In the two counties, producers who suffered losses due to the recent drought may be eligible for FSA emergency loans, the agency said in a news release.
Producers in contiguous counties Ada, Gem, Owyhee and Washington, and Malheur County in Oregon, also are eligible to apply.
The application deadline is July 8.
Information is available at local FSA service centers or online.
The agency reviews loan applications based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
Also in southwest Idaho, USDA in late October designated Washington County as a primary natural disaster area due to drought.
The declarations are based on a U.S. Drought Monitor result of D2 (severe) for eight straight weeks.
Online

Caption + Show MoreShow Less More than half of Colorado remains in the grip of drought classified as severe to exceptional , and the state would need more snow than this winter’s predicted El Niño is likely to deliver to provide much relief, scientists say.
About 83 percent is in some stage of drought and 13.35 percent of the state, mostly in the southwest corner, is in exceptional drought.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less Stream flows in the southwest portion of the state also are much below normal, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Thirteen streamflow stations between Mesa and Archuleta counties were reported as much below normal compared to historic levels, three as below normal and five as normal.
The dearth of water is obvious in Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Colorado.
The data paints an even more startling picture: the reservoir is at 43 percent of its average capacity recorded between 1985 and 2016.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less Downstream, Lake Powell made headlines earlier this year when it dropped to less than half full.
This year was the second driest year on record for the major reservoir in Arizona, lagging just behind 2002.
To fully lift the Four Corners out of the drought by June, the region would need to receive 173 percent of normal precipitation, NOAA models show.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less "We entered winter a bit early" Fontenot said.

Dickson said while on the surface it appeared that ratepayers might save costs, some might find themselves paying more.
The amount might seem insignificant but if they keep consuming more, that will add up to a high amount.
Our main goal should be to continue saving water and using less,” said Dickson.
“The dams are not big enough to supply everyone,” Dickson said.
“We need to ensure we have enough water until the next winter rainfall.
Collectively, residents have to use no more than 650million litres a day, up from Level 5’s 500million.
Experts have cautioned against excessive consumption as the city still needs to save water.
Dr Willem de Clercq of the Water Institute at Stellenbosch University, has attributed the decision to adjust the water restrictions as an “economic” move.
He said the City of Cape Town’s income from water had come down considerably as many residents had decided to use less when Level 6 restrictions and tariffs were in place.
Those who will fill up swimming pools or over-use water will pay heavily,” De Clercq said.

More drought could bring disease, power outages and food shortages and New Zealand isn’t ready, a new report warns.
Kiwi households could be at increased risk of disease due to a water-shortage induced lack of hygiene, the report says.
The country could also face shortages of fruit and vegetables, interruptions to electricity supply, more frequent watering bans and higher prices – or the introduction of water charges – in some areas.
* Quick!
Save the planet: Why Stuff is embarking on a long-term climate change project * Beach Road: The rising sea and the reshaping of New Zealand * ‘Life-altering’ changes needed to avoid the worst of climate change * Fighting climate change wouldn’t stop our economy, but it might hurt the poor The report raised several questions for further research, one of which has already developed into a project aims to understand the future of drought for New Zealand.
"Although it is true that farmers and rural communities normally experience the full effects of a drought, we don’t have to look much further than the recent Day Zero scenario in Cape Town to realise that urban areas can also be affected by droughts."
Cape Town, South Africa’s second-largest city, was predicted to run out of water in April this year.
Kamish said as New Zealand’s climate changed, water supply systems would have to be adapted accordingly.
"[That] may include new sources, new technologies, increased storage capacity and better management of water usage.
"In parallel, we need to carefully manage the quality of existing and potential sources now, so as not to jeopardise them for future use," he said.

“The drought meant that our customers did not have profits to reinvest back into their businesses in 2017,” says Sean Walsh, CEO of JSE-listed Kaap Agri.
While farmers have been slow to pick up their spending, there are definitely green shoots about – the deciduous fruit harvest was good and the wheat harvest is looking promising.” Kaap Agri November 28, 2018 at 2:00:00 PM PST In fact, for Kaap Agri, the impact of the drought far outweighed the impact of the land expropriation discussion, he says.
Many farmers are exporters and they cannot afford to fall behind in their investment cycle.
The company’s retail fuel operations are grouped within The Fuel Company (TFC), which also operates the forecourt convenience brand Expressmark.
During the year, revenue increased by 2.1% to about R6.55 billion, up from R6.42 billion in the previous financial year.
Recurring headline earnings grew by 1.7%, while recurring headline earnings per share increased by 0.7% to 354.10 cents, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate of 14.1% to September 30, 2018.
Regulatory delays “We estimate the drought impact on Wesgraan and agri retail to be 11.3% of the targeted 15% growth with a further 6.5% impact due to regulatory delays in the retail fuel environment.
The acquisition provides Kaap Agri with an entry point into a new geographical region, KZN, as well as an additional business stream in the pasture-based dairy sector.
The company will pay a final dividend of 84.7 cents per share, a 2.5% increase on the previous year.
It has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 18.5% over the past five years.