Dry conditions continued to expand across parts of the Plains last week, even as widespread rainfall brought drought relief to portions of Texas and the Deep South, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.
In the High Plains region, light to moderate precipitation fell across much of the area, with the heaviest totals — between a half-inch and 1.5 inches — reported in central Colorado. Higher elevations also received late-season snowfall, leading to some drought improvement there.
However, conditions worsened in other parts of the Plains. Despite cooler temperatures helping reduce evaporation rates, drought expanded across portions of Kansas, Nebraska and far western North Dakota, where rainfall amounts were not enough to significantly improve conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map data courtesy of NDMC.