Southwestern U.S. receives unexpected drought relief

The September 29th drought monitor shows 78.4% of the U.S. is experiencing abnormal dryness or drought, down 0.4% from the previous week, with 59.4% in D1 level drought or higher, up 0.2%.Currently 21% (down 1%) of corn acres are in D1-D4 drought with 27% (up 1%) of soybean acres, and 57% (down 1%) of winter wheat acres also impacted. For livestock, 57% (down 1%) of the U.S.cattle herd is in D1-D4 drought conditions with 36% (down 1%) of dairy cattle also in drought.

Rainfall was abnormally heavy in the Southwestern U.S. stretching into Colorado and northern Texas as well. The rainfall was beneficial to drought conditions, but also potentially caused quality declines in cotton in the Texas panhandle. The highest local totals in the region ranged from 5 to 10 inches. Rains also continued in the Midwest, though were somewhat lighter than in previous weeks, allowing for some harvest to occur. After a brief cooling period, higher than normal temperatures returned to the Southeastern U.S. this week as well.

The National Weather Service expects rainfall to continue in the Southwest and southern Plains this coming week as Hurricane Polo approaches the west coast. Prediction models are unsure of how long the system may hold together, but the possibility for rains to stretch into the Mississippi Delta are also present.

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