Weekly precipitation was 0.27 inches. Weekly lows: 46,39,51,56,61,50,40. Highs: 62,62,60,69,77,69,59. Weather was mild to warm. Rain fell last Sunday until around midday. Windy conditions began Monday night and lasted through Thursday (Southerly flow). This wind effectively dried the surface out.  A few showers and some thunder in the area Friday night dropped a meager 0.03 inches. The return to Northerly flow Saturday began to cool things down. As of this Sunday morning February 22nd, the temperature is in the mid to low 30s. The warmth this past week allowed the weeping willows to begin to leaf out, and the daffodils are up now too, but not blooming yet. Ground conditions are still rather dry. I did some digging in the yard yesterday and discovered the soil profile is fairly dry as well. The U.S. drought monitor shows this area as D2 Intensity (severe drought). The low area in my yard held water during the rain last Sunday, but it soaked in quickly over the course of the next day. This same area would typically hold water for days after a rain event and during some winters it rarely dries up. NOAA shows the month-to-date, year-to-date and water year-to-date percent of normal for this station as 37, 74 and 68 respectively. PRISM is 34, 68 and 67 for the same categories. No field operations have started for farmers in this area, so the lack of precipitation is not currently an issue. Usually, an over-abundance of rainfall during planting season occurs (Late March through April). We shall see if spring can bring this dryness to an end.