Weekly High Plains Drought Update - August 2, 2018

Cooler than normal temperatures and localized heavy rainfall occurred this week in portions of the High Plains. According to the U.S Drought Monitor, small improvements and degradations were made this week. In southwest Kansas, an area of moderate drought (D1) conditions improved to abnormally dry (D0) conditions, while D0 conditions were removed along the eastern border of the Dakotas. Meanwhile, drought conditions worsened in northeastern Kansas, resulting in an increase in areal coverage of severe drought (D2) and extreme drought (D3) conditions. North-central North Dakota saw small increases in D0 and D1 conditions after persistent dryness. Conditions in western Colorado continue to deteriorate, and D3 conditions expanded northeastward into central parts of the state. D2 conditions expanded further into northwestern Colorado and southern Wyoming. D1 conditions expanded into southwestern Wyoming.

According to the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, soybean and corn conditions degraded in Kansas while conditions throughout the rest of the High Plains changed very little during the past week. Pasture conditions in Colorado experienced improvements after repeated thunderstorms in the northeast part of the state, while Kansas pasture lands continued to degrade. Soil moisture conditions improved in parts of the High Plains, as the percentage of topsoil and subsoil that is rated short to very short decreased in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlook favors above-normal temperatures in the High Plains this coming week. Below-normal precipitation is favored in the High Plains, with the highest likelihood of this occurring in northeast Wyoming, extreme northwest Nebraska, and the western parts of the Dakotas. The 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast indicates a likelihood of precipitation across a majority of the High Plains, with the greatest amounts expected in Nebraska and eastern South Dakota.