Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Riverton, WY

000
AXUS75 KRIW 240545
DGTRIW
WYC003-013-017-019-023-025-029-033-035-037-039-041-043-230545-

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
1145 PM MDT SAT MAR 23 2013

...DROUGHT OUTLOOK - SOME IMPROVEMENT ACROSS THE NORTH AND EAST
THROUGH THE END OF JUNE 2013...DROUGHT TO PERSIST IN THE SOUTHWEST...

SYNOPSIS...

THE LATEST U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR FOR WYOMING RELEASED ON MARCH 21ST
SHOWED NO CHANGE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH...AND LITTLE
CHANGE ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN WYOMING SINCE EARLY FEBRUARY.
THE MAIN CHANGE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS HAS BEEN TO THE
DROUGHT OUTLOOK.  THE LATEST DROUGHT OUTLOOK NOW FORECASTS SOME
IMPROVEMENT IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN
WYOMING THROUGH THE END OF JUNE...OR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE
STATE CURRENTLY IN EXTREME /D3/ OR EXCEPTIONAL /D4/ DROUGHT.

EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT /D4/ COVERED 10.1 PERCENT OF THE STATE...OR
MOST OF GOSHEN...NIOBRARA AND WESTON COUNTIES...CREEPING INTO
EASTERN CONVERSE AND SOUTHEAST CAMPBELL COUNTIES. EXTREME DROUGHT
/D3/ COVERED MOST OF CENTRAL WYOMING...WITH EXTREME OR EXCEPTIONAL
DROUGHT COVERING 54.7 PERCENT OF WYOMING. SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT
REMAINED ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...SOUTHEAST CORNERS OF THE STATE AS
WELL AS PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. SEVERE
DROUGHT OR WORSE COVERED 83.6 PERCENT OF WYOMING. MODERATE
DROUGHT /D1/ PREVAILED ACROSS WESTERN UINTA COUNTY...THE STAR VALLEY
...NORTHWEST SUBLETTE COUNTY NORTH THROUGH THE TOGWOTEE PASS
AREA. ABNORMALLY DRY /D0/ CONDITIONS COVERED YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK AND MOST OF TETON COUNTY.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS.

USGS WYOMING DROUGHT-WATCH 28-DAY MAP OF BELOW AVERAGE STREAMFLOW
SHOWED BELOW NORMAL STREAM FLOW ACROSS MOST OF SOUTHERN WYOMING AS
WELL AS THE TONGUE RIVER BASIN IN SHERIDAN COUNTY.

FIRE WEATHER IMPACTS.

NO FUELS WERE CLASSIFIED AS CRITICAL IN ANY AREAS ACROSS WEST AND
CENTRAL WYOMING. MOST FUELS RECEIVED ADDITIONAL SNOW DURING
FEBRUARY AND REMAINED UNDER SNOW COVER. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNTY
OFFICIALS FOR THE LATEST BURNING RESTRICTIONS.

THE SIGNIFICANT WILDLAND FIRE POTENTIAL OUTLOOK SHOWED NORMAL
LIKELIHOOD...OR AS WOULD USUALLY BE EXPECTED...FOR WILDFIRE
OCCURRENCE AND BECOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS THROUGH JUNE 2013.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

BELOW ARE THE CUMULATIVE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS FROM SELECTED
LOCATIONS ACROSS WEST AND CENTRAL WYOMING FOR THE CURRENT WATER
YEAR...OCTOBER 2012 THROUGH FEBRUARY 2013.

LOCATION                   PRECIPITATION             % AVERAGE
                           OCT 2012-FEB 2013
--------                     -------------           -----------

AIRPORTS

* BIG PINEY                      0.59                      35
* BUFFALO                        2.21                      84
+ CASPER                         2.21                      64
^ EVANSTON                       2.70                      69
+ GREYBULL                       0.82                      52
+ LANDER                         3.55                      95
+ RIVERTON                       1.72                      77
* ROCK SPRINGS                   0.32                      12
* SHERIDAN                       4.29                     113
+ WORLAND                        1.51                      89

COOPERATIVE OBSERVER STATIONS

^ AFTON                          6.55                      96
* BILLY CREEK                    2.71                     115
+ BITTER CREEK 4 NE              1.79                     102
* FOSSIL BUTTE
  NATIONAL MONUMENT              4.97                     128
* GREEN RIVER                    3.67                     151
+ JEFFREY CITY                   1.99                      75
  MOOSE                          9.84                      88
  OLD FAITHFUL                  10.41                      93
* POWELL FIELD STATION           0.84                      69
+ RIVERTON (DOWNTOWN)            1.89                      90
* THERMOPOLIS                    2.17                      65

+ LOCATION IN EXTREME DROUGHT /D3/
* LOCATION IN SEVERE DROUGHT /D2/
^ LOCATION IN MODERATE DROUGHT /D1/

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOKS...

THE OUTLOOK FOR APRIL SHOWED EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL...BELOW
NORMAL...AND NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS WYOMING...OR NO CLEAR
CLIMATE SIGNAL. SOUTHERN WYOMING...OR ROUGHLY SOUTH OF AN AFTON TO
LARAMIE LINE...HAD A SLIGHT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION
IN APRIL. THE REST OF WYOMING HAS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...BELOW
OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING APRIL.

THE THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FOR APRIL...MAY AND JUNE SHOWS A GREATER
THAN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTHERN AND
CENTRAL WYOMING OR SOUTH OF A GILLETTE TO AFTON LINE. NORTH OF
THIS LINE...THERE ARE EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW...OR NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR THIS THREE MONTH
PERIOD SHOWS A BETTER THAN EQUAL CHANCE FOR BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST CORNER...MAINLY UINTA COUNTY.
THE REST OF WYOMING HAS EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL
PRECIPITATION OR NO SIGNIFICANT CLIMATE SIGNAL.

DEVELOPMENT OF EL NINO CONDITIONS STALLED OUT IN SEPTEMBER IN THE
PACIFIC OCEAN. ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED IN FEBRUARY.
ENSO-NEUTRAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO SUMMER 2013.

THE U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK RELEASED ON MARCH 21ST SHOWED
THAT DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE FORECAST TO SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT
ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN WYOMING...ROUGHLY NORTH AND EAST OF A
JACKSON TO RIVERTON TO LARAMIE LINE...THROUGH THE END OF JUNE
2013. THE BEST CHANCE FOR IMPROVEMENT IS FORECAST ACROSS THE
NORTHEAST CORNER...NORTH AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 90. DROUGHT
CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO PERSIST ACROSS SOUTHWEST WYOMING...SOUTH
AND WEST OF A JACKSON TO RIVERTON TO LARAMIE LINE...THROUGH THE END OF
JUNE.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

SNOWPACK DATA FOR MARCH 22ND -

                        PERCENT OF AVERAGE             PERCENT CHANGE
DRAINAGE BASIN          SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT (SWE)    SINCE MARCH 7TH
                        (BASED ON 1981-2010 NORMALS)

SNAKE RIVER                        92                        +2
MADISON                            93                        +2
YELLOWSTONE                        93                        -1
WIND RIVER                         79                        -6
BIG HORN BASIN                     96                        +5
SHOSHONE RIVER                     91                        -2
POWDER                             98                         0
TONGUE                             89                        -1
BELLE FOURCHE                      71                       -27
CHEYENNE                           93                        +2
UPPER NORTH PLATTE                 81                        +3
SWEETWATER                         71                        -8
LOWER NORTH PLATTE                 66                        +1
LARAMIE                            82                        +5
SOUTH PLATTE                       82                        +7
LITTLE SNAKE RIVER                 82                        +3
UPPER GREEN                        83                        +1
LOWER GREEN                        85                        +5
UPPER BEAR                         76                         0
_____________________________________________

RESERVOIR DATA FOR MARCH 21ST -

RESERVOIR                 PERCENT FULL

CENTRAL WYOMING
BOYSEN                      71.0
BUFFALO BILL                66.4
BULL LAKE                   51.3
PATHFINDER                  42.4

UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN
BIG SANDY                   23.0
FONTENELLE                  38.0
FLAMING GORGE               80.0

UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN
GRASSY LAKE                 86.0
JACKSON LAKE                74.0

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED ON APRIL 10 2013 OR SOONER IF
NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CONDITIONS.

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT
THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/...

TO REPORT EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT IN YOUR AREA...PLEASE GO TO THE
DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER AT...

HTTP://DROUGHTREPORTER.UNL.EDU/

...AND CLICK ON SUBMIT A REPORT.

INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA MAY BE FOUND AT...
HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/NEWSOUTREACH/INFORMATIONFORMEDIA.ASPX

NWS RIVERTON DROUGHT PAGE...
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/RIW/?N=DROUGHT

USGS WYOMING DROUGHT WATCH...
HTTP://WY.WATER.USGS.GOV/PROJECTS/DROUGHT/

U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.GOV

NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV

CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER /CPC/...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV

ADDITIONAL RIVER AND RESERVOIR INFORMATION...

NWS ADVANCED HYDROLOGIC PREDICTION SERVICE /AHPS/...
HTTP://WWW.WATER.GOV/AHPS2/INDEX.PHP?WFO=RIW

NRCS WYOMING...HTTP://WWW.WY.NRCS.USDA.GOV

USGS...HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV/

USBR...HTTP://WWW.USBR.GOV/

WATER RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM (WRDS)...HTTP://WWW.WRDS.UWYO.EDU

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA/S
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THE
USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL
DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN
GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...STATE COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...USACE AND USGS.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION
STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT...

ARTHUR MEUNIER
CLIMATE/DROUGHT FOCAL POINT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
12744 WEST US HIGHWAY 26
RIVERTON, WY  82501
TELEPHONE...307-857-3898
............800-211-1448
EMAIL...ARTHUR.MEUNIER@NOAA.GOV

$$