Drought continues to wane across most of U.S.

The October 20th drought monitor shows 73.2% of the U.S. is experiencing abnormal dryness or drought, down 1.3% from the previous week, with 50.7% in D1 level drought or higher, down 3.0%. Currently 20% (unchanged) of corn acres are in D1-D4 drought with 27% (up 1%) of soybean acres, and 49% (down 4%) of winter wheat acres also impacted. For livestock, 43% (down 4%) of the U.S.cattle herd is in D1-D4 drought conditions with 26% (down 5%) of dairy cattle also in drought.

Both precipitation and rainfall were highly variable across the U.S. this week, though most areas did note some reductions to drought. Temperatures remained returned to more normal levels for late-October in most of the Southeast and Midwest, while areas in the Plains saw wide temperature swings over the weekend. Rain also came to the southern Plains, offering some drought relief in Texas and Oklahoma. Further east, the Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas remained mostly dry and were one of the few areas to see drought intensify from last week.

The National Weather Service five to seven day forecast sees rainfall chances concentrated in the western U.S. Chances are favorable for large swaths of that area, with widespread totals of 1 to 3 inches possible in spots ranging from the California coastline to the Rocky Mountains. West Texas and the Panhandle are expected to receive another 2 to 4 inches over the coming 7 to 10 days as well.

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