Weekly High Plains Drought Update - July 6, 2017

Drought Weekly Update July 6 2017

Drought conditions in the Northern Plains persist, especially with above-normal temperatures in the western half of the Dakotas, eastern Montana, and northeastern Wyoming. With these warmer temperatures and slightly below-normal precipitation, the U.S. Drought Monitor depicted worsening conditions in these areas, and moderate drought (D1) was introduced to northeastern Nebraska. The total population living in this Northern Plains drought area has risen to just above 860,000.  

Similar to the previous week, the Dakotas and Montana were in the heart of the drought. Extreme drought (D3) persists in the eastern half of Montana, including Glasgow, where low precipitation records were broken. The Glasgow area reported only 2.75 inches of precipitation from January to June, which was the driest January-June period on record for Glasgow (period of record 1895-2017). The Dakotas have also seen a westward expansion of D3 conditions. This expansion even included the northern fringes of the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations. It should be noted that there was some improvement in the eastern part of North Dakota, in Grand Forks and the surrounding area, thanks to showers that occurred during the past week.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal temperatures for the western and central United States, including all of the High Plains Region, in the next 6 – 10 days. Below-normal precipitation is favored for much of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, while western Colorado is expected to receive above-normal precipitation. The rest of the High Plains has equal chances for above-, near-, or below-normal precipitation.