Editor’s Note: USDA no longer publishes pasture and range conditions in the weekly Crop Progress report.Pasture and range conditions will return in the spring.
Nationwide
This week continued with another active weather pattern over portions of the Pacific Northwest as well as into the central Plains and Midwest. With widespread heavy rain from Kansas into Wisconsin and portions of the lower Mississippi River valley, some areas recorded significant precipitation during the period.
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Temperatures over the eastern half of the country were above average, some significantly, while most of the West was cooler than average. A continued wet pattern over the Pacific Northwest, as well as portions of the Midwest, has allowed for continued improvement in drought intensities, especially in areas that are receiving abundant precipitation. Dryness continues to build over eastern portions of the Midwest and into the Southeast as well as along the Gulf Coast.
The West
A wet week for much of the West helped to put a boost into the start of the current water year after a slow start. Continued wetness over the Pacific Northwest and into portions of the northern Rocky Mountains helped with long-term drought issues.
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Temperatures were cooler than normal for most of the region, with some areas of Oregon and California 8-10 degrees below normal for the week. Improvements were made this week along the coastal regions of Oregon, Washington and northern California, where moderate and severe drought were reduced. Areas of western Montana and northern Idaho also had drought intensities reduced with the recent wet pattern. Portions of western Wyoming saw an expansion of moderate and severe drought, while severe drought was improved in portions of western Colorado and northeast Utah.
The High Plains
Much of the High Plains remained dry this week, with only portions of southeast Nebraska and eastern Kansas recording above-normal precipitation.
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Temperatures were mostly above normal for the area, but western portions were normal to slightly below this week, with the warmest temperatures over eastern Kansas, where departures were 6-9 degrees above normal. With the continued dryness, most of the changes were worsening drought intensities.
As the autumn remained dry over much of Nebraska, expansions were made to extreme and exceptional drought in the northeast and western parts of the state. Western Kansas, eastern Colorado and eastern Wyoming also had expansions of severe, extreme and exceptional drought conditions. Much of eastern and central Kansas saw improvement from several inches of rain, which led to the reduction of all drought intensities (including the extreme and exceptional areas in the southern portion of the state) and the removal of extreme drought in the northeast.
The South
Temperatures over the region were well above normal, with departures of 6-9 degrees above normal during the week. Only areas of the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma were near normal.
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The wettest areas of the region were in eastern Oklahoma, northeast and south Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, where some areas recorded over 200% of average rain this week. Much of central and west Texas and central Oklahoma missed any rains this week. A full category improvement to the drought intensities was made over much of Arkansas, western Louisiana, and eastern Texas. Severe drought was expanded over portions of southern Louisiana where much of the recent rain has missed. Drought intensities were expanded slightly in northeast Oklahoma and central portions of Texas due to a mixture of short- and long-term drought issues. — UNL Drought Monitor
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