Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Gulf Coast Region for December 2023–February 2024. Dated March 2024.

Winter 2023-2024 temperatures were near normal across much of the Gulf Coast region, with temperatures averaging 2F below normal to 2F above normal in most locations. The Gulf Coast of Florida was the cool spot with most stations 2F below normal. Precipitation during winter 2023-2024 was variable across the Gulf Coast region.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for December 2023–February 2024. Dated March 2024.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Gulf Coast Region for September–November 2023. Dated December 2023.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for September–November 2023. Dated December 2023.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for June–August 2023. Dated September 2023.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for March–May 2023. Dated June 2023.

Spring temperatures were near normal across much of the Southern Region, with most stations averaging 1°F below to 1°F above normal. Along the Gulf Coast, temperatures at many stations were 1°F to 3°F above normal. Below-normal precipitation was common in central Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, the area north and west of San Antonio, far west Texas, eastern Tennessee, and much of Louisiana, with many stations receiving 25% to 70% of normal precipitation.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for December 2022–February 2023. Dated March 2023.

Winter 2022–2023 temperatures were above normal across much of the Southern Region, with stations averaging 0 to 2°F above normal in the west and 4 to 8°F in the east. Below-normal precipitation was common in southern, western Texas, the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma, and along the Gulf Coast. In eastern Oklahoma, much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee precipitation was above normal.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Southern Region for September–November 2022. Dated December 2022.

Despite being a humid region, droughts pose a serious threat to the southeastern United States. Recent events, including flash droughts, have caused substantial impacts to agriculture, forestry, water resources, and other sectors and stakeholders. The drought planning literature cites reduced fragmentation and increased coordination as critical needs to improving drought preparedness and response.