5/6 Drought Monitor; D4 Growing In S. Plains, CA; D3 From San Antonio To NE, San Diego To Oregon

[hatrack]

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THE PLAINS

After good rains last week across parts of the northern Plains, dryness followed this week across most of eastern South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Unseasonably cool weather continues to delay impacts thus far as 30-90 day deficits (25-75% of normal across the region) are starting to mount considerably for many parts of these states heading into summer. This has led to some changes this week in the form of expanding D1-D2 in eastern Nebraska as well as in the southern Panhandle out west. D1 also expanded in southeastern South Dakota, although some trimming of D0 on the northernmost flank of D0 in eastern South Dakota is also noted this week as they have been wetter than those counties in the southeast. Kansas continues to set the southern edge of the intense drought that seems to be waking up and pushing rapidly north along with warmer temperatures. A large expansion of D3 now covers nearly the entire southern half of Kansas and D4 is slowly pushing north out of Oklahoma. Soil moisture and groundwater levels are hurting well in front of the peak demand season as the cumulative impacts of such an intense multi-year drought are already glaringly evident, and it’s only early May. Precipitation totals on the year are running just 25-50% of normal, or worse, for many locales across southern Kansas.

THE SOUTH

After seeing some spotty wet stuff last week, virtually the entire region went bone dry, and triple-digit heat was returning to parts of western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle regions as of early this week. This is not the recipe for recovery as the calendar pushes toward summer. What winter wheat wasn’t damaged or killed off by recent hard freezes was left to bear the brunt of the heat and dryness this week, with little in the way of relief on the horizon.

In Louisiana, D0 and D1 continue to expand this week, covering more of the southern and western parishes as the dry spring continues. Deficits aren’t just limited to the past 30-60 days, though, as year-to-date precipitation is now running at around 50-70% of normal in the dry/drought areas, and that trend continues when looking back to last October as deficits of 6-12 inches (typically 50-75%) or more are found behind the recent dryness as well, particularly in southwestern locales. Some slight expansion of D0 is also noted this week in parts of western Arkansas. Unseasonably cool weather has kept things from worsening more quickly in both Louisiana and Arkansas.

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THE WEST

Most of the West remains in status quo after a relatively dry but warmer than normal week. For the drought-affected regions, the general lack of snow pack and water equivalent totals (as reported by USDA-NRCS) leaves a lot to be desired, with many locations falling at, or below, 50% of normal, and many areas have already melted out that shouldn't have at this time of year. As the dry season settles in and demand peaks, water supplies will quickly follow suit as many in the region have already turned their attention to what the monsoon or potential El Niño may bring, knowing that the tap is about to go dry.

Some minor changes were made this week, with some slight expansion of D1 in extreme northeastern Colorado, where the drought in the Plains continues to slowly push westward toward the Front Range of the Rockies. Farther west and north, a late-season push of moisture brought some recovery to year-to-date totals in western Idaho, leading to some minor improvement of D0-D2 there.

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http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

[Demeter]

1. Thanks again, hatrack!

for your invaluable service

[defacto7]

2. Good site!

Thanks! It's now bookmarked in my earth directory.