Conditions were mixed for the Midwest the week ending Aug. 3, with heavy precipitation again favoring southern and eastern areas of the Midwest, with little to no rain in the Upper Midwest. “Conditions deteriorated significantly across Minnesota and northern Iowa, most notably in several large patches in Iowa and adjacent Minnesota, where extreme drought (D3) was introduced,” today’s update says. Even in the wetter areas, rainfall was too light to produce notable changes, with the exception of western Wisconsin, eastern Michigan and some isolated areas.
As of Aug. 3, 74.9% of Iowa was dealing with abnormal dryness or drought, with 33.5% of the state classified as being in severe (D2) or extreme (D3) drought. Ninety-nine percent of Minnesota is dealing with abnormal drought or dryness, with 35.1% of the state classified as being in extreme (D3) drought — a 13-point jump from the week prior. Missouri and eastern areas of the Corn Belt are largely drought-free.
Rains fell from the Southwest as far as eastern Nevada, southern Idaho, southern and western Wyoming and western Colorado, but totals were not enough to significantly improve dryness and drought from the Plains eastward. “Conditions deteriorated in several areas where there was little or no rainfall, specifically the northern Plains from eastern Montana through western Minnesota, from central Kansas and adjacent Colorado northward into Nebraska, across northeastern Arkansas, over the central Virginias, and in the climatologically dry areas of the Far West,” today’s Drought Summary says. In North Dakota, exceptional drought (D4) expanded “substantially to cover much of the state’s interior,” today’s Drought Monitor says.