Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - October 30, 2014

It was a fairly warm and dry week across much of the High Plains region, preventing any significant improvement of drought conditions in the area. The major highlight of the week in terms of drought in the High Plains is the introduction of moderate drought (D1) and the expansion of abnormally dry conditions (D0) in northeastern South Dakota. This part of the state has been rather dry in the last 2-3 months, supporting the introduction of D1 drought conditions in the area. Elsewhere in the region, it was mostly status quo.

The next week appears to be fairly dry across the northern Plains, which will not help with drought conditions in South Dakota. The greatest amount of precipitation is expected across southeastern Kansas where up to 2 inches of rain could fall. Western Colorado could also see upward to an inch of precipitation in the coming week.

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/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx

  Drought Condition (Percent Area): High Plains Region