High Plains Weekly Drought Update - July 30, 2020

Drought conditions continued to deteriorate in Wyoming, northern Colorado, and the Nebraska Panhandle, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought (D3) expanded in northern and central Wyoming, while severe drought (D2) and moderate drought (D1) spread across Wyoming into western Nebraska and northern Colorado. However, beneficial precipitation fell across southeastern Colorado and throughout drought-stricken areas of Kansas, resulting in a reduction of D3, D2, and D1 conditions. Other small changes were made across the High Plains to areas experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions.
 
According to the July 28th USDA Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, pasture conditions improved in several states but continued to degrade in Wyoming and Colorado. The percent of pastureland rated poor to very poor was 50% in Wyoming and 40% in Colorado. Winter wheat harvest is ahead of the 5-year average in all states and is nearly complete in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Corn conditions are, for the most part, faring well across the region except for Colorado, where 28% of corn was rated as being in poor or very poor condition.
 
The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlook has increased chances for above-normal temperatures across most of Colorado, southern and central Wyoming, and parts of the Nebraska Panhandle. Meanwhile, increased chances for below-normal temperatures are favored for the majority of Kansas, central and eastern Nebraska, and southeastern South Dakota. Increased chances for above-normal precipitation are present across much of the Dakotas and central and eastern Nebraska, while increased chances for below-normal precipitation are present in the majority of Wyoming, Colorado, southern Kansas, and portions of the Nebraska Panhandle. The National Weather Service’s 7-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast predicts that precipitation will occur in all states, with the greatest amounts expected in eastern Kansas.