Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - April 14, 2015

Another week of Moderate Drought (D1) expanding throughout the High Plains especially in much of South Dakota and southwestern Wyoming. On the other hand, areas of eastern Kansas and northern North Dakota saw an improvement in drought conditions thanks to the rather wet week.

Temperatures were once again above normal with most spots seeing at least 2-4 degrees above normal. Parts of South Dakota and North Dakota actually experienced temperatures greater than 8 degrees above normal. Areas around the High Plains also received precipitation in excess of a half inch. The bigger news, however, is that most of the Great Plains received about half an inch of rain below normal this past week.

Looking at the coming week, the story is completely different. Temperatures will likely be below normal for the entire High Plains region and there will be lots of precipitation. The National Weather Service is expecting upwards of two inches for most of central Nebraska, northern Colorado, and southern Wyoming. This should be able to hold off or even improve the Abnormal Dryness (D0) in these areas. The rest of Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and southern South Dakota are expected to receive around and inch of rain which will greatly benefit these drier areas.

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