Overview The U.S. Drought Monitor drought map valid November 1, 2016. During October 2016, numerous troughs and cutoff lows moving in the jet stream flow directed cold fronts and moisture from the Pacific into the northwestern portions of the CONUS. The resulting wetter-than-normal month helped contract drought and abnormal dryness in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, and Northern Rockies. The fronts and surface lows dried out as they crossed the Rockies.
