Nationwide
Intensifying short-term rainfall shortages led to expanding and intensifying dryness and drought over much of the Lower Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, Northeast, and parts of the Deep South, southern Plains, central Arizona, and the central Rockies.
Meanwhile, a second consecutive week with moderate to heavy precipitation led to areas of improvement in the South Atlantic States from the Carolinas through Florida, across northern reaches of the Rockies and Plains, and over parts of the central Great Plains. The heaviest amounts (8-11 inches) doused areas in southeast Wisconsin from central Washington and Ozaukee Counties southward through much of north and central Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties.
Meanwhile, 6-8 inches were dropped on a broader section of southeast Wisconsin as well as a few patches across southeast South Dakota, the Carolinas Piedmont and adjacent southern Appalachians, the coastal Carolinas, north-central Florida, the central Florida Peninsula, and interior southeast Florida.
The West
Heavy precipitation (ranging from one to multiple inches in most areas) prompted significant improvements across northern and western Montana, as well as portions of northern Idaho.
Farther south, a few weeks of deficient monsoonal rainfall and above-normal temperatures prompted deterioration in D1 to D3 conditions across southwestern Montana, several swaths across Utah, and a few areas in Arizona and eastern Nebraska.
In addition, conditions deteriorated from moderate to severe drought (D1 to D2) in part of northwestern Washington. In other parts of the West Region, dryness and drought were unchanged compared to last week. Outside the northern tier of the Region, very little precipitation was reported, outside several tenths to about an inch in southeastern Arizona. The proportion of rangelands in poor or very poor condition increased over the last five weeks, from 32% to 49% in Utah, from 22% to 44% in Washington, and from 10% to 34% in Idaho.
The High Plains
Rainfall varied in intensity across the High Plains Region once again this week, with abundant rainfall amounts falling on much of North Dakota, southern Nebraska, and some spots in Kansas, leading to improved conditions.
Some improvement was also noted in part of the southeast Wyoming High Plains. Meanwhile, less precipitation kept dryness and drought approximately unchanged across South Dakota, allowing for areas of intensification in the central and western parts of Colorado and Wyoming for the second consecutive week. A sizable swath of northwestern Colorado deteriorated into exceptional drought (D4), while D2 to D3 conditions expanded in other areas over and near the higher elevations in the western parts of the High Plains Region. Since early July, USDA has indicated that the proportion of topsoil short or very short of moisture increased from 20% to 32% in Colorado and from 52% to 63% in Wyoming.
The South
Patches of moderate to heavy rain were observed over southernmost Louisiana and adjacent Texas, as well as much of the Red River Valley (south), the southern Texas Panhandle, and the northern tier of Oklahoma.
Other areas saw scattered to isolated showers that did not markedly improve any extant dryness. Similar to conditions in adjacent Mississippi, above-normal precipitation earlier in the summer ebbed beginning in early July, and significant short-term rainfall deficits have accumulated over the past several weeks, although multi-month precipitation totals are generally near or above normal. In conjunction with hot summertime conditions, this has led to quickly depleting surface moisture over much of Tennessee, Arkansas, and portions of Louisiana. As a result, D0 conditions have been introduced and expanded rapidly. Farther west, less widespread short-term moisture deficits led to several patches of new D0 this week in western Arkansas, Oklahoma, and northeastern Texas.
Farther south and west, some D0 and D1 expansion was noted in Deep South Texas; however, dryness and drought remained essentially unchanged across New Mexico and the remainder of Texas. USDA indicated that short or very short topsoil moisture covered 60% of Tennessee and 80% of Arkansas (up from 18% and 39%, respectively, in early July). — UNL Drought Monitor
