Weekly High Plains Drought Update - August 17, 2017

Despite Welcomed Rainfall, Only Small Improvements to Drought Conditions in Northern Plains

Cool, wet weather prevailed across the Northern Plains during the past week, providing some temporary relief in drought conditions. Nearly the entire High Plains region experienced temperature departures ranging from 2-8°F below normal. Precipitation exceeded 200 percent of normal across much of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Nebraska, but eastern Montana missed out on the rainfall and precipitation was less than 25 percent of normal for the week. While the precipitation was welcome, it was not enough to vastly improve the drought situation, so only local adjustments were made to the U.S. Drought Monitor depiction for August 15. The greatest relief came in southwestern North Dakota where more than 3.50 inches of rain fell, prompting an improvement from Exceptional Drought (D4) to Extreme Drought (D3). In South Dakota, small degradations and improvements were made, with very little change to the overall drought depiction of the state. Montana experienced the greatest degradations, which occurred in the western part of the state, as nearly 70% of the state is now experiencing drought (D1-D4).

According to the USDA's Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin for August 15, corn condition improved in the Dakotas this past week. Twenty percent of North Dakota's crop and 31% of South Dakota's crop were in poor to very poor condition, down from 25% and 36% last week, respectively. Soybean conditions improved slightly as well, with 19% of North Dakota's crop and 22% of South Dakota's crop in poor to very poor condition. The following are percentages of poor to very poor pasture conditions, which improved this week: North Dakota (72%), Montana (66%), and South Dakota (63%). With the exception of Montana, topsoil moisture improved across much of the High Plains region this past week with the greatest improvement occurring in North Dakota.

The 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast does not look promising for drought-stricken areas of the Northern Plains, as the heaviest precipitation is expected to fall east of the area. The 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center indicates above-normal temperatures for Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and western parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. Elsewhere in the High Plains temperatures are expected to be near normal. Precipitation is predicted to be below normal across the Northern Plains and above normal throughout the southern High Plains.