The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report released late last week shows drought conditions edging higher across the country, with 51.35% of the combined area of all 50 states and Puerto Rico now classified as moderate drought or worse. That is up from 50.9% the week prior. Approximately 153.4 million people are living in drought-affected areas, a marginal increase from 153.3 million the week before.
A Nation Divided by Precipitation
The week was defined by a stark precipitation divide. Persistent storm systems funneled heavy moisture into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, delivering four to six inches of rain across the region with higher totals in some coastal pockets. Those amounts ran three to five inches above seasonal norms. A separate band of rainfall brought one to three inches to Texas, the Ohio Valley, and into the Northeast.
The western United States told a very different story. Most areas west of the Rockies received less than a tenth of an inch of rain. That lack of moisture, combined with blustery winds, triggered extreme fire danger across the upper Missouri Valley. The Northwest saw a small amount of precipitation by week’s end.
Temperature Extremes Added to the Divide
Temperature patterns reinforced the geographic split. Unseasonable warmth gripped the West and parts of the South while a significant cool down settled over the northern Plains and upper Midwest. High elevation areas of the West experienced winter-like conditions.
Where Conditions Improved and Worsened
The West and High Plains saw mostly degradation, though some improvement was noted in California, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas. The Southeast saw mostly improvement, with the exception of Virginia and southern Florida. The rest of the lower 48 saw a mixed picture of both improvement and worsening conditions.
Puerto Rico recorded an area of degradation this week, bringing abnormal dryness to the southeastern side of the island. Alaska saw small areas of improvement.
