Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - June 16, 2015

There should be no surprise in learning that the High Plains received a lot of rain again this week. Some areas in southeastern Nebraska received above three inches. There were similar hotspots in Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Kansas that saw above two inches. The next week looks to bring rain to the northern states of High Plains region which may be able to bring relief to the drier areas in western North Dakota and eastern South Dakota. Tropical cyclone remnants moved up through southwestern Colorado bringing unseasonably heavy rains. This prompted the United States Drought Monitor to eliminate the Moderate Drought (D1) from Colorado, making the state drought free for the first time since September 21st in 2010.

In North and South Dakota Warm and wet conditions continued, but generally allowed for the first alfalfa cutting. All other crops are around their five year averages for emergence percentages. In Colorado and Wyoming temperatures rose and skies cleared, which had crops make significant progress in emergence. Producers were also able to ramp up planting activities. However many are still behind the five year average.While in Nebraska and Kansas planting delays progressed as three or more inches of rain fell in areas of the state. Alfalfa harvesting was difficult due to the excessive rainfall. Most crops are behind their average emergence percentages due to cool, cloudy, and rainy conditions over the past month.

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