This drier weather pattern across the South is consistent with what is expected during a La Niña winter.
(MORE: What La Niña Conditions Mean for Winter in the U.S.) The latest update from NOAA indicates that La Niña conditions are expected to persist through winter.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, "over the last 60 days, extensive areas of the country have recorded below 25 percent of normal precipitation, from the Southwest into the central Plains and Midwest as well as in the Southeast and into the Mid-Atlantic."
In addition, as of Jan. 9, "some areas of the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and southern Kansas have gone 95-100 straight days with less than 0.10 inches of precipitation, with several locations reporting no precipitation at all during that time."
In addition, almost 77 percent of the region is currently abnormally dry compared to just over 8 percent in early September.
In the South, which includes Tennessee and Mississippi westward into Texas, only 0.45 percent of the region was seeing drought conditions on Sept. 5, and that percentage has jumped to 45 percent as of Jan. 9.
The percentage of the area that is at least abnormally dry has also dramatically increased from just under 3 percent in early September to almost 74 percent in early January.
However, the weather pattern that has been in place has brought colder-than-average temperatures so far this winter to much of the southern and eastern U.S., with temperature the greatest above average in the Southwest.
(MAPS: Weekly Planner) Given the expectation that La Niña conditions will last through the winter and will then transition to neutral conditions, neither La Niña or El Niño, this spring, there are concerns that drought conditions will worsen.
The precipitation outlook from NOAA indicates that generally drier-than-average conditions are expected through March from the Southwest into the southern Plains and much of the South.