Weekly High Plains Drought Update - May 10, 2018

Drought Conditions Persist; Winter Wheat Continues to Suffer

Drought persisted after another warm and dry week across most of the High Plains. Precipitation deficits continued to accumulate during the past 30 days in portions of North Dakota and southwestern Colorado, leading to degradations in both areas. Exceptional drought (D4) expanded northward in southwestern Colorado while abnormally dry (D0) conditions expanded in central and eastern North Dakota. Persistent dryness caused low streamflows in southeastern Kansas, which led to the slight expansion of severe drought (D2) and D0 conditions this week. However, areas of moderate drought (D1) were reduced by localized heavy rains in northeastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, and northwestern Colorado, along with an improvement of D2 conditions east of Clay County, KS. D0 conditions were removed north of the Platte River in eastern Nebraska this week as well.

The USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin reported on May 8th that winter wheat conditions continue to suffer, not just in the High Plains but in the Southern Plains as well. One-third of the country’s winter wheat crop was in poor to very poor condition. The following are percentages of the wheat crop rated poor to very poor throughout the Plains, broken down by state: Colorado (17%), Kansas (50%), Nebraska (7%), Oklahoma (68%), South Dakota (11%), and Texas (60%).  Colorado and North Dakota’s topsoil moisture remained above 40% short to very short while topsoil moisture in Kansas was 53% short to very short.

The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlook favors above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation in the majority of the High Plains. However, below-normal precipitation is favored in southwestern Colorado. The 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast indicates a likelihood of precipitation across a majority of the region with the highest concentration in Wyoming and northwestern Nebraska.