Exceptional water surplus conditions spanning the Pacific northwestern states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho are expected to moderate in the near-term. Moderate surpluses are expected to develop along the central Gulf Coast and extend up the Mississippi Basin through the forecast period, settling over the northern Great Plains states by early 2018. Severe to exceptional deficits are forecast to develop over most of Alaska and moderate but persist throughout the forecast period.
Canada: Water deficits in central QC & along QC/ON border
Pockets of exceptional water deficits affecting the eastern extents of Ontario and central Quebec are expected to persist in the near-term but subside by September. Recent exceptional surplus conditions in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are expected to continue throughout the forecast period into early 2018. Conditions normalize over the remaining regions of Canada by the December through February 2018 period.
Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean: Water deficits in much of Mexico, esp Baja
Recent severe water deficits across Mexico are expected to subside somewhat through August, shifting toward the south and bringing moderate deficit conditions to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These conditions are forecast to persist into early 2018. Surplus conditions in southern Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica should subside and moderate by the final forecast period. Exceptional surplus conditions in central Cuba and Haiti are forecast to persist but moderate slightly by early 2018.
Africa: Severe water deficits in northern Africa, Gabon, & Botswana
Severe to exceptional water deficit conditions are expected to continue in the desert regions of the northern nations, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, northern Niger, and northern Sudan. Gabon, Botswana and Madagascar are also expected to experience exceptional deficit conditions in the near term. Surpluses in Tanzania may shift southward in the out months entering early 2018. While conditions moderate across sub-Saharan Africa, there are indications that moderate to severe deficits may develop across the Sahel and northern Chad and Sudan in the December through February 2018 period.
Australia & New Zealand: Water deficits persist in Darwin, Tasmania, Perth, New Caledonia
Widespread extreme water deficits spanning the middle of the country are expected to subside in the June through August forecast period. Deficits will persist in the Darwin region of the Northern Territory, on Tasmania, and in the southwestern extents of Western Australia through November. Recent surplus conditions in northern Western Australia, east of Darwin, and along the central Queensland coast are expected persist through November. In the December through February 2018 forecast period conditions are forecast to normalize with the exception of moderate deficits south of Darwin and in the Perth region of Western Australia.