Nationwide
Conditions this week were primarily based on where precipitation fell. Storms across the Ohio River Valley and Mid-Atlantic brought beneficial rainfall, leading to improvements in eastern Oklahoma, northeast Mississippi, northern Alabama, the Tennessee-North Carolina border, Virginia and northern West Virginia.
Outside of this band of precipitation in the center and eastern U.S., conditions continued to deteriorate after weeks of little to no precipitation. Many of the coastal states in the Southeast saw widespread degradation as short-term indicators show deteriorating conditions. High temperatures in many of these areas make conditions worse.
Snow in the Northern Rockies and central Montana improved conditions, but the rest of the West was not so lucky. Precipitation along coastal mountains kept conditions in Oregon and California unchanged. Nevada and the four-corners region continued to deteriorate. Areas of higher elevation have low snowpack for this time of year. Hawaii also saw conditions improve, while Alaska and Puerto Rico remained dry or drought-free.
The West
Washington and northwestern Montana saw moderate drought expansion. Despite recent snow accumulation, they are still experiencing large moisture deficits.
Conversely, central Idaho and central Montana saw widespread improvements as conditions continued to improve. Idaho has benefited from the recent snow from Boise, which has moved into the Rocky Mountains and into Montana. California remained unchanged this week. Conditions continue to deteriorate across the Four Corners area in the Southwest. Snowpack is below normal for this time of the year, and soil moisture and streamflow levels are below normal.
The High Plains
The High Plains once again missed out on the precipitation that moved through the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic parts of the U.S. Western Nebraska, and Kansas saw degradation as the lack of precipitation continued to affect the area.
Colorado also experienced degradation. In the far northeast, abnormally dry conditions expanded from Nebraska to Kansas. Western Colorado continues degrading in the Western Slope and San Juan regions. Wyoming saw extreme drought removal in the northwest and north central areas, as snowpack has markedly improved in the non-mountainous areas.
The South
Heavy precipitation fell across western Oklahoma into Kentucky, improving the few remaining areas of dry or drought conditions. Northwest Oklahoma saw the removal of some abnormal drought along with northeast Mississippi. Western and central Texas, Louisiana and southern Mississippi missed out on the band of heavy precipitation and saw degradations. — UNL Drought Monitor
