Near-even mix drought improvement and degradation for country’s midsection
Several rounds of storm systems led to some drought improvement across the U.S.’s midsection the week ending Oct. 5, but temperatures remained unseasonably warm in the Midwest and northern Plains.
A slow-moving cold front brought a line of showers from the Dakotas to Texas, easing dryness across the Plains. “Significant rains fell over portions of western and central Kansas, central and northeast Nebraska and into central South Dakota as well as southeast North Dakota,” today’s Drought Summary says. But in western areas of South Dakota, extreme and severe drought expanded, with Nebraska and Wyoming also seeing a new area of extreme drought introduced. “Areas of eastern Colorado had moderate drought conditions expand this week while severe drought expanded in far southeast Colorado and into southwest Kansas,” today’s update says.
The latest Drought Monitor shows 84.6% of the High Plains is dealing with abnormal dryness or drought, a 1.2-point dip from last week and 9.0 points under year-ago levels. The comparison to year-ago reminds just how long the region has been dealing with drought.
Much of the South received welcome rains over the past week, putting the brakes on recent dryness. Areas that missed out included the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles, east and west Texas and western Arkansas. Today’s update shows 39.6% of the region is impacted by abnormal dryness or drought, a 5.6-point improvement from the week prior.
Temperatures were warm for the Midwest the week ending Oct. 5, with northern Minnesota, eastern Iowa and northern Illinois recording deviations of 12 to 16 degrees. Scattered precipitation fell across the region, improving drought conditions in central and southern Missouri, western Indiana, northwest Iowa and Minnesota. In contrast, drought worsened in northern Missouri, southern Iowa, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As of Tuesday, 42.8% of the Midwest was dealing with abnormal dryness or drought, a marginal 0.2-point increase from the week prior.
