Nationwide
Last week, several areas received significant rainfall. One area was over Iowa, eastern Nebraska and Kansas, and northwest Missouri, where more than 4 inches fell in central Iowa and southeastern Kansas. Another area was centered over Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania, where conditions were already wet.
Much of Florida and the Gulf Coast received 2-4 inches of precipitation in the past week. Most of the southwest U.S. received little rain, except for scattered monsoonal precipitation along the New Mexico-Arizona border. Most of Texas and Oklahoma remained dry, as did most of the western Great Plains.
Temperatures in the southern Great Plains and lower Mississippi Valley remained very warm, with some locations over 10 F above normal. Most of the rest of the continental U.S. was also above normal. The only areas with below-normal temperatures over the past week were northern New England and most of the northwest states.
The West
An area from southwestern Oregon to central Washington into northern Idaho and Montana received some welcome rainfall during the week. The rain resulted in regional improvements in drought conditions. One location that just missed out was in northwest Washington on the Canadian border, where drought degradation continued and low streamflows persisted. Areas along the California-Nevada border and in central Arizona also experienced drought degradation and received little to no rainfall.
Extreme drought is shown over much of central Oregon, central Utah, southern Idaho down into northern Nevada, and small areas in northern Washington and southern Arizona. Exceptional drought continues in southern Idaho, northern Nevada, and northeastern Oregon.
The High Plains
Eastern Kansas had above-normal precipitation over the past week, improving drought conditions in the area. Eastern Nebraska and eastern South Dakota also received decent rainfall, improving drought conditions. Other areas of South Dakota that missed out on the rain had drought degradation. Colorado had drought degradation in the central part of the state, with drought improvements in both the southwest and southeast parts.
Extreme drought continues over much of Colorado and Wyoming, western Nebraska and the Dakotas, and in eastern North Dakota. Exceptional drought is observed over much of central Colorado as well as two localized areas in far western Nebraska.
The South
Extremely above-normal temperatures continued in this region over the past week. Nearly all locations saw drought deterioration, except northern Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and coastal Mississippi. Much of Texas and into the Ark-La-Tex area experienced flash drought conditions.
In addition to the heat, these areas received little rainfall in the week. Extreme to exceptional drought conditions are noted in far south Texas, most of northern Texas into western and southern Oklahoma, northwestern and northeastern Arkansas, and along the Arkansas-Mississippi border. — UNL Drought Monitor
