The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows severe drought worsening across America's heartland, with extreme and exceptional drought conditions spreading across the South, High Plains, and parts of the Midwest despite some beneficial rainfall in select regions.
- The South faces dire drought conditions with exceptional drought covering northern Texas, western to southern Oklahoma, and parts of Arkansas
- Some Midwest areas received 6 to 8 inches of rainfall, while southern Missouri and northern Wisconsin experienced deteriorating dry conditions
- The High Plains received 2 to 5 inches of precipitation, but much more rain is needed to address extreme drought in Colorado, Wyoming, and western Nebraska
- West-central Oklahoma is experiencing the driest period on record over the past year, while temperatures ran 5 to 15 degrees above normal in affected regions
- Forecasters expect significant moisture and heavy rainfall in the Four Corners states and western Great Plains within the next five days
Heavy rainfall brought relief to parts of the Midwest this past week, but southern Missouri and much of the High Plains continued to struggle with extreme drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.
The report shows a stark divide across America’s heartland, where beneficial precipitation fell in a band from eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Some localized areas received 6 to 8 inches of rainfall, while other regions received little to no moisture amid temperatures running 5 to 10 degrees above normal.
Midwest sees mixed conditions
The Midwest experienced dramatically different conditions depending on location. Southern Missouri faced hot and dry weather, causing drought conditions to deteriorate across much of the region. Several states are setting records for continued warmth during this late summer to early fall period, with parts of southern Missouri peaking at over 15 degrees above normal.
Northern Missouri told a different story. Wet conditions led to improvements in drought categories as the region received 3 to 5 inches of precipitation over the week.
The heaviest rainfall fell across southern Minnesota, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Northeast Grant County, Wisconsin, recorded over 8 inches of rain, leading to improvements in dry categories throughout these areas.
Northern Wisconsin bucked the trend. Dry conditions caused localized deterioration and the introduction of a small area of exceptional drought, the most severe category on the drought scale.
High Plains gets needed rain
Most of the High Plains received beneficial rainfall this past week, resulting in improvements to drought categories over parts of all states in the region. Western Nebraska to southeastern Montana picked up 2 to 3 inches, while northeastern Kansas added to northern Missouri’s totals with 3 to 5 inches.
Despite the welcome precipitation, much more will be needed to address the continued extreme drought covering much of Colorado and Wyoming, as well as parts of Montana, North and South Dakota and western Nebraska. Areas of exceptional drought persist across much of central Colorado and western Nebraska.
South faces dire conditions
The continued heat and dry conditions resulted in widespread degradations across the South over the past week. Extreme drought now appears in every state in the region, with exceptional drought covering much of northern Texas, western to southern Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas.
Both short-term and long-term drought are contributing to conditions in this region. Over the last year, west-central Oklahoma is experiencing the driest period on record, while southwest Oklahoma has seen the second driest.
Precipitation was very spotty and generally light in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, southern Missouri and western Tennessee and Kentucky.
Other regional updates
The Southeast continued to experience heat and generally dry conditions, with degradations from southeast Virginia through the eastern and central Carolinas down to Georgia and Alabama. An area of exceptional drought continues in northern North Carolina.
Florida was a bright spot, with most of the state receiving several inches of rain over the week. Improvements were especially notable over the southeast portion of the state.
Eastern Arizona to central New Mexico experienced monsoonal storms causing localized flooding and some drought improvement. Southern California and southern Nevada continued dry, leading to degradation of dry categories.
In the Caribbean, a strong tropical wave moved over Puerto Rico during the past week and provided much-needed rainfall. Most of the region had improved drought conditions, with better vegetation and soil moisture, though streamflows remain lower than normal in some locations.
Looking ahead
The next five days are forecast to bring wet conditions along the northeastern coast from a nor’easter. Remnants of a tropical system will provide significant moisture into the Four Corners states and the western Great Plains, with heavy rainfall expected. Parts of the northern Great Plains are also forecast to receive welcome precipitation.
Areas with little rain in the forecast include much of Texas and Louisiana, regions around the Great Lakes, and California and Nevada.
