Discussion of La Niña in winter; outlook for precipitation and temperatures; impacts on agriculture, ecosystems/rivers, and the economy; how past La Niñas have unfolded. 

NOAA’s Regional Climate Services Program created these Outlooks to inform the public about climate impacts within their respective regions. Each regional report contains easy-to-understand language, and anyone can access them through the Drought Portal at https://www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports. 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for June – August 2017.  Dated September 2017.  

After a drought-free May, areas of moderate drought were introduced in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri on the U.S. Drought Monitor in June. Drought continued to intensify across Iowa and to a lesser extent eastern Missouri and west-central Illinois during the summer. Ames, Iowa experienced its driest June–July on record.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for June – August 2017.  Dated September 2017.  

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for March – May 2017.  Dated June 2017. 

At the end of May, Lake Ontario’s water level was 82 cm (32 in) above average, which is the highest it’s been since records began in 1918. The high water levels led to widespread flooding and erosion along the Lake Ontario shoreline. Lake Erie was also close to reaching its all-time high water level. All the other lakes were at least 22 cm (8.7 in) above average and all were higher than they have been since at least 1998.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for March – May 2017.  Dated June 2017. 

The unusual February warmth continued into the first week of March. Most of southern Minnesota, Iowa and, northern Missouri were 7°–10°F above normal, while most of Illinois and Indiana were 6°–8°F above normal. Dozens of daily maximum and high minimum temperature records fell during the week.

Information from regional Drought Early Warning Systems helped people make better decisions in many sectors, including construction, fish production, and agriculture. A recent survey assessed the value of drought and climate-related webinars and quarterly climate summaries produced for decision-makers in the Midwest and Missouri River Drought Early Warning Systems and in the Great Lakes Basin. The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln led the survey, which was funded by the National Integrated Drought Information System.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for December 2016 – February 2017.  Dated March 2017. 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for December 2016 – February 2017.  Dated March 2017. 

This report documents the Midwest Drought Early Warning System Kickoff Meeting, held February 9-11, 2016 in St. Louis, MO, to formally launch the Midwest DEWS. The multi-day event brought together federal, state, local, private industry and academic partners and other stakeholders for an in-depth discussion on drought and high-precipitation events in the Midwest, with attention to water, climate, land resources and emergency management. Discussions centered on improving the capacity to meet the early warning information needs of decision makers in the Midwest.

A presentation by Dr. Dennis Todey that was presented at the Extreme Events and Drought Resiliency workshop that took place in Rapid City, South Dakota September 17-18, 2014. Provides a good deal of data on the climate of the region and the United States as a whole.