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

It was another dry week across much of the High Plains region, leading to continued degradation of drought conditions in two primary areas. The moderate drought conditions (D1) in the eastern Dakotas expanded southwestward further into South Dakota. Abnormally dry conditions (D0) were also filled in in the central Dakotas. Ninety-day precipitation deficits of 2-4 inches warranted this expansion. Also, D0 was expanded to fill in north-central Kansas so that all but eastern Kansas are dry or in drought. November was very dry for the state, receiving approximately 7% of normal precipitation. Low streamflows are also reflecting dryness in Kansas. 

Next week, the forecast calls for up to an inch and a half of precipitation across central and eastern Kansas, hopefully alleviating dry conditions there. The Dakotas are expected to remain dry, however, so relief in that region is unlikely.

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