Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - April 28, 2015

Areas in Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming saw a beneficial surplus of rain accompanied by generally cooler than average temperatures. On the other hand, eastern parts of the Dakotas and northeastern Nebraska saw rainfall amounts below average. Considering that planting is becoming more widespread, and dry topsoil conditions are being reported, the U.S. Drought Monitor labeled these areas as drought degradations. Most of central South Dakota went from Moderate Drought (D1) to Severe Drought (D2), while eastern parts of North Dakota, northern parts of South Dakota, and northeastern Nebraska went from Abnormal Dryness (D0) to D1. There have been reports of inadequate vegetation for livestock in extreme southeastern North Dakota, and so without precipitation throughout the following week this area might be downgraded to D2.

Down through southern Kansas and south central Colorado, moderate rainfalls helped to improve drought conditions. A small area saw a single class improvement in Kansas from D2 to D1 while south central Colorado improved from D1 to D0 and from D0 to no drought. While a larger portion of these regions received rainfall, the USDM believes that most of the rain only helped to deviate from further drought deteoriation.

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