Intense rainfall across the central United States brought much-needed relief to drought-stricken areas this past week, with some locations receiving enough precipitation to support two-category improvements on the drought scale, 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.
Central Plains see major improvements
Heavy precipitation hammered eastern Colorado, central and western Kansas, and parts of southern Nebraska, with numerous locations reporting 3 to locally over 6 inches of rain. The deluge was sufficient to support two-category improvements in portions of southeastern Colorado and the western half of Kansas.
Precipitation amounts dropped off sharply north of a line from central Colorado through northeastern Nebraska, where only a few tenths of an inch fell at best. Despite the limited rainfall, improvements were introduced in parts of the central and northern Dakotas where earlier precipitation may have been more beneficial than initially assessed.
The only areas showing deterioration were in northeastern Colorado and part of north-central Wyoming, which have consistently been north or west of the heaviest precipitation patterns.
Mixed results for Midwest
The Midwest presented a tale of two regions this week. Moderate to locally heavy precipitation of 1 to locally 2.5 inches fell on dry areas across the central Lower Peninsula of Michigan, removing most of the moderate drought there and reducing abnormal dryness coverage slightly.
However, northern areas fared worse. Only light precipitation was noted across northern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and adjacent areas, resulting in broad one-category deterioration. Exceptional drought, the most severe classification, expanded in coverage across northern Wisconsin, while moderate drought conditions were brought into a large part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Drought remained essentially unchanged over most of Minnesota, with only isolated changes noted.
Along the southern tier of the Midwest, continued below-normal precipitation allowed for areas of deterioration across central and eastern Kentucky and parts of southern Missouri, while locally higher amounts prompted limited improvement in some locales near the Mississippi/Ohio confluence and west-central Missouri.
Weather patterns shift
Persistently wet weather over the past few months has created a void of dryness and drought stretching from Iowa and northern Missouri eastward north of the Ohio River and south of the Great Lakes States.
The week’s weather was characterized by lower temperatures and the typical autumn decline in human and environmental water demand, which limited drought intensification in areas receiving little or no measurable precipitation.
Looking ahead, forecasters expect little or no precipitation in many areas impacted by dryness and drought, including most of the Plains and Great Lakes Region over the next several days.
