Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - November 26, 2014

It was a dry week across the High Plains region, preventing drought relief and causing the U.S. Drought Monitor author to expand abnormally dry conditions (D0) across two large areas of the region. One of the areas of expansion was in North Dakota. D0 was expanded westward to include the entire eastern half of the state. The other major area of D0 expansion was in southwest Nebraska, expanding to include parts of central and south-central Nebraska. The two expansion areas were largely due to short-term dryness, as 90-day precipitation deficits are 40-50% of normal in these regions. One positive note is that few impacts from the dryness are being experienced due to the cold temperatures.

Looking ahead to the next week, much of the region is expected to get some precipitation, and snow is expected in the northern Plains. Significant precipitation totals that would alleviate dry/drought conditions are not likely, however.

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