Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - September 4th, 2014

Below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation across much of the High Plains region led to improvements in drought conditions this week. A stationary front stalled out across parts of the region, causing many areas to experience several consecutive days of rain. The heaviest rains fell across eastern Nebraska and eastern Kansas, both of which picked up 3-5 inches. Some parts of the region, including a large portion of central and south-central Wyoming, experienced 800 percent of normal precipitation last week!

Approximately 73 percent of the region has no drought designation (D0-D4) this week, which is nearly 6 percent more than last week. The greatest improvements occurred across south-central Wyoming, eastern South Dakota, and southern Nebraska. Parts of central and eastern Kansas saw a slight improvement in drought conditions, but for Colorado, it was mostly status quo across the state. A new tool supported by the U.S. Drought Monitor and produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center indicates regional- and state-level population affected by drought. This week, just over 1.6 million people living in the High Plains region are affected by drought; approximately 1.4 million of those people reside in Kansas.

Looking ahead, a strong cold front will sweep across parts of the region tonight and tomorrow, which is expected to bring additional rain to places like southeastern Nebraska and much-needed rain to drought-stricken Kansas and southern Colorado. Another system is expected to make its way through the region next week, bringing additional chances for rainfall and drought improvement.

To learn more about the U.S. Drought Monitor, please see: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu

To see the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, please see the Climate Prediction Center here:http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.html

To see the areas of agriculture affected by the drought, please see the USDA link: http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/Drought/AgInDrought.pdf

To see the impacts of the drought, please see the Drought Impact Reporter here: http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

Check out the table below for the drought conditions over the past 2 months for the High Plains Region.

To view statistics of the High Plains Region and each state check out the Regional Statistics here: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DataArchive/Tables.aspx?high_plains

  Drought Condition (Percent Area): High Plains Region