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Weekly High Plains Drought Update - October 4, 2018
Author: Gannon Rush - High Plains Regional Climate Center
Published: 2018-10-04 20:41:51
Updated:
It was a cool week for much of the High Plains region. This cool weather, combined with light precipitation, helped to improve drought conditions across the Dakotas and stave off degradations elsewhere. According to the U.S Drought Monitor, only one area of degradation occurred this week, with the introduction of Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions in southeast Kansas. Several improvements were made, however. Much of the D0 area that stretched from northeastern Wyoming into southwestern South Dakota was eliminated, while Severe Drought (D2), Moderate Drought (D1), and D0 conditions were also trimmed in north-central South Dakota. Meanwhile, improvements were made in several pockets of North Dakota, but overall drought conditions (D1-D4) across the state remained about the same.
According to the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, crop conditions this week stayed nearly the same. Pasture conditions worsened in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, but improved in South Dakota.
The next week could be cool and wet, as the Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 Day Outlook favors below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for the entire High Plains region. According to the 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast, precipitation could occur all across the High Plains region over the next week, with the greatest amounts expected in drought-stricken areas of eastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska.
