Dryness continues and intensifies in the Southern U.S.
The amount of winter wheat covered in drought was up one percentage point to 53% of winter wheat area is covered by drought compared to the previous week, according to the USDA.
Warm, dry weather dominated the southern two-thirds of the U.S. over the past week. With record-setting warmth dominating areas from the Pacific Coast to the Mississippi Valley, weekly temperatures averaged at least 10 to 20°F above normal throughout the Rockies, Plains, interior Northwest, and western Corn Belt.
While the warm weather favored late-season fieldwork, it reduced soil moisture for winter grains and cover crops. As of Dec. 3, only 6% of the continental U.S. was covered by snow — the lowest on record for that date going back to 2003, according to the USDA and the National Drought Monitor.
Historically warm weather developed across the western and central U.S. before spreading eastward, resulting in dozens of monthly record highs in early December.
Drought-affected areas expanded and intensified on the Drought Monitor map in areas of the South including Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas as well as in the Southern Plains.
In Texas, the amount of area in drought increased 10 percentage points to 81%. Oklahoma is now 93% covered by drought, up six points from the previous week.
