Nationwide
Widespread soaking rains fell across Texas and the Deep South, bringing a much-needed moisture boost to these drought-stricken areas.
While sufficient to ease drought conditions across portions of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley, and the Tennessee Valley, drought conditions remained mostly unchanged across southeastern Alabama, Georgia and northwestern Florida, where soil moisture and streamflows remain extremely low. Lighter rainfall also overspread the Northeast, combined with cooler temperatures, helping slow the advance of drought and improving drought conditions in Maine. Where lighter accumulations occurred, there was a slight expansion of drought and abnormal dryness across portions of the mid-Atlantic, Hudson Valley, and southeastern New England.
Cooler temperatures and mostly dry weather overspread the Plains and Midwest. While drought conditions continued to expand across the Plains, the drier weather was mostly welcome across the upper Midwest and Corn Belt, allowing fieldwork to progress. Hot, dry weather promoted degradation across Arizona and northwestern Washington, while late-season moisture across northern California did little to change the meager snowpack conditions.
The West
Outside of northern California, where late-season moisture provided a boost to short-term streamflows and soil moisture but did little to change the unusually low snow cover across the northern Sierras, seasonably dry weather overspread most of the West.
Recent moisture eased drought conditions across far western Montana. While little change to the drought depiction occurred across the West, hot, dry conditions exacerbated impacts across Arizona, resulting in some substantial degradation. Short-term dryness also increased across northwestern Washington, resulting in the expansion of D0.
The High Plains
Light to moderate precipitation overspread much of the High Plains, with the heaviest accumulations (0.5-1.5 inches) falling across central Colorado, including late-season snow across the higher elevations.
This precipitation reduced drought across central Colorado. Across the rest of the Plains, however, the moisture was not sufficient to engender substantive improvements. Despite cooler temperatures lowering evapotranspiration rates, some degradation occurred across Kansas and Nebraska, and far western North Dakota.
The South
Following last week’s beneficial rainfall, additional rain fell across much of Texas and Louisiana over the last several days, further reducing drought conditions.
Rainfall across central and western Texas eased drought across the upper Rio Grande Valley as well. Despite the beneficial rainfall, widespread severe-to-exceptional drought continues across the South Region, and it will take a sustained series of heavy precipitation events to begin to ease impacts. The beneficial rainfall missed the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma, where poor conditions continue to affect rangeland and winter wheat. Drought conditions also expanded across Arkansas. — UNL Drought Monitor
