Drought Monitor ticks down slightly as changes across U.S. mostly offset

The September 15th drought monitor shows 81% of the U.S. is experiencing abnormal dryness or drought, down 0.1% from the previous week, with 59.4% in D1 level drought or higher, up 0.8%.Currently 24% (down 1%) of corn acres are in D1-D4 drought with 27% (unchanged) of soybean acres, and 56% (down 1%) of spring wheat acres also impacted. For livestock, 58% (unchanged) of the U.S.cattle herd is in D1-D4 drought conditions with 39% (unchanged) of dairy cattle also in drought.

Hot weather continued to dominate the southeastern U.S. as the heat dome remained in place through mid-September. Temperatures were also above normal to a lesser extent across most of the continental U.S. Heavy rainfall occurred in a band stretching from the central and Northern Plains into western Iowa. Locally, amounts totaled over 4 inches.

The National Weather Service expects rainfall to continue in the upper Midwest over the next 5 to 7 days. Areas with the highest chances for rainfall include southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, with rain also in the forecast for eastern Iowa and pockets of northern Illinois. Above normal temperatures are expected to continue as well.

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