As of Oct. 18, 82% of the U.S. was experiencing abnormal dryness/drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, unchanged from the previous week. There were “targeted improvements in the Southern Plains,” though none of that came in the major HRW wheat production states.
USDA estimates the drought footprint covers 70% of winter wheat acres (up 4 points from last week).
In HRW areas, dryness/drought covers 77% of Colorado (unchanged), 99% of Kansas (unchanged), 90% of Montana (unchanged), 100% of Nebraska (unchanged), 100% of Oklahoma (unchanged), 100% of South Dakota (up 5 points) and 94% of Texas (unchanged).
In SRW areas, dryness/drought covers 100% of Missouri (unchanged), 76% of Illinois (up 12 points), 100% of Indiana (up 20 points), 59% of Ohio (up 13 points), 41% of Michigan (down 10 points), 86% of Kentucky (up 1 point) and 79% of Tennessee (up 5 points).
For the Plains, the Drought Monitor noted: “Despite the High Plains Region observing near to below-normal average temperatures this week, a combination of antecedent dryness, below-normal precipitation, and high winds resulted predominantly in continued degradation region-wide. The only exception was the southwestern corner of Colorado, where short and long-term drought indicators have shown continued improvement following a robust Southwest Monsoon season and a couple of additional episodes of precipitation, associated with cutoff areas of low pressure in the Southwest in recent weeks.”
For the Midwest, the Drought Monitor commentary noted: “Despite the High Plains Region observing near to below-normal average temperatures this week, a combination of antecedent dryness, below-normal precipitation, and high winds resulted predominantly in continued degradation region-wide. The only exception was the southwestern corner of Colorado, where short and long-term drought indicators have shown continued improvement following a robust Southwest Monsoon season and a couple of additional episodes of precipitation, associated with cutoff areas of low pressure in the Southwest in recent weeks.”
For the South, the commentary stated: “Frontal boundaries associated with a couple of strong low pressure systems over the Great Lakes brought heavy precipitation to parts of the Red River Valley of the South, the Ozarks, and the Tennessee Valley this week. Farther westward toward the Rio Grande Valley, a cutoff low pressure system became entrained into the second frontal boundary dropping southward across the central U.S. bringing heavy rainfall to parts of western and southern Texas. Improvements were generally warranted in areas receiving the heaviest rainfall (greater than 1 inch positive 7-day anomalies). However, antecedent 30-day dryness resulted in status quo depictions for several other locations receiving near to above-normal rainfall, as surface soil moisture has rapidly declined due to widespread 3 to 5 inch 30-day precipitation deficits and predominantly above-normal temperatures. This dryness also extends to 60 to 90 days for several areas across the Southern Plains and along the Gulf Coast, warranting 1-category deteriorations in the drought depiction for many locations not receiving rainfall this week.”