As of Jan. 17, 65% of the U.S. was covered by abnormal dryness/drought, down one percentage point from the previous week. USDA estimated 59% of U.S. winter wheat areas were covered by drought, unchanged from the previous week. Drought coverage for winter wheat included 15% “moderate” (D1), 16% “severe” (D2), 13% “extreme” (D3) and 15% in “exceptional” (D4).
In HRW areas, dryness/drought covered nearly 100% of Kansas (57% D3 or D4), 58% of Colorado, 98% of Oklahoma (58% D3 or D4), 78% of Texas, 100% of Nebraska (45% D3 or D4), 100% of South Dakota and 92% of Montana.
In SRW areas, dryness/drought covered 60% of Missouri, 68% of Illinois, 65% of Indiana, 13% of Ohio, 44% of Michigan, 1% of Kentucky and 0% of Tennessee. None of the drought in these SRW states is classified as D3 or D4.
Across the Plains, the Drought Monitor noted: “Much of the High Plains remained in a holding pattern last week. Areas that received abundant snowfall over the Water Year are slow to make improvements due to the long-term nature of drought in the region. Until spring melt shows verified evidence of soil moisture and groundwater recharge, it will be difficult to tell how much effect snow has had on drought conditions. Severe (D2) drought improved in eastern North Dakota, which has received 16 to 20 inches of snow this season. No areas deteriorated significantly, except for areas of abnormal dryness (D0) in South Dakota and Colorado.”
In the Midwest, the Drought Monitor stated: “The Midwest saw a mix of drought improvement and expansion last week. Heavy precipitation (150 to over 300% of normal) in Ohio and Indiana led to improvements in moderate (D1) drought and abnormal dryness (D0) where streamflows and soil moisture show signs of recovery. Missouri, though, saw an expansion of severe (D2) drought based on increasing precipitation deficits (6 to 12 inches over the last 6 months) and declining streamflows. Continued below-normal precipitation led to an expansion of D0 in Illinois and far southeast Wisconsin as streamflows have begun to decline.”
Across the South, the Drought Monitor noted: “Much of Oklahoma and Texas missed out on this week’s precipitation events, resulting in the expansion of drought. In Oklahoma, temperatures averaged 10 to 13 degrees above normal over the previous 2 weeks while precipitation has been less than 50% of normal over the past 4 months. Extreme (D3) drought expanded in response to well-below-normal (10th percentile or lower) measurements of streamflow, groundwater and soil moisture conditions. Texas also saw a swath of degradations from the north-central region to South Texas where short-term moisture deficits, on top of longer-term drought, have continued to build, and streamflow, soil moisture and groundwater levels range from below (10th to 24th percentile) to well below normal (10th percentile or lower). In the eastern part of the region, last week’s rainfall erased lingering areas of abnormal dryness.”