Dry Weather, Worsening Drought Persists in the West

Mother Nature had no plans of changing up the weather pattern this past week, and unfortunately, dry weather and worsening drought continue to dominate the West.

West
Unseasonably warm and dry weather prevailed throughout most of the West last week. The exception was parts of the Southwest, which saw monsoonal rain and thunderstorms. Some areas of Montana also picked up some much-needed rain, but no improvements were made given the dry pattern over the spring into the first half of summer.

As a result of the dry weather, deepening drought dominated the region this week, and there were not any areas of improvement. An area of extreme drought (D3) was added to southern Idaho, while extreme drought (D3) expanded across northern Idaho. Moderate to severe drought (D1-D2) also increased in coverage for Washington, Oregon and Idaho. There was also an expansion of moderate to severe drought (D1-D3) in western and northern Montana, northern Utah and northeastern Nevada.

The rest of the region remains status quo this week. Southern Arizona into southwestern New Mexico continues to have widespread extreme drought (D3), with an area of exceptional drought (D4) continuing along the Arizona-New Mexico border.
 
High Plains
Overall, the High Plains recorded largely dry weather for the week. However, there were pockets of heavy rain. The wettest areas were in southwest Kansas, northeast Nebraska and portions of northeastern Colorado, where over 200-percent of normal rain was recorded! Dryness continued throughout most of Wyoming and Dakotas, western Colorado and northeastern Kansas.

Central and eastern Nebraska reported considerable improvement this week. Two small areas of severe drought (D2) were eliminated in central and northeastern Nebraska, and areas of abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D-0D1) were reduced substantially. Abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) also shrunk in coverage across southeastern South Dakota and northeastern Colorado. Moderate drought (D1) decreased slightly in northeastern North Dakota.

Conversely, moderate to extreme drought (D1-D3) expanded throughout western Colorado. Abnormal dryness to moderate drought (D0-D1) increased throughout most of Wyoming. Northeastern Kansas saw an expansion of abnormally dry conditions.
 
Midwest
A wet, stormy week occurred mainly in western portions of the Midwest last week, while it was drier for the eastern areas. The wettest areas of the regions were from Iowa into Illinois and Missouri, where greater than 200-percent of normal rain fell. At the same time, northern Indiana into Ohio as well as portions of western Missouri reported less than 10-percent of normal rainfall.

The areas that received the best rains made improvements last week. A small area of severe drought (D2) was removed in northeastern Illinois, while abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) shrunk. Severe drought (D2) also shrunk across northwestern Minnesota. Moderate drought (D1) was removed in northeastern Missouri. The rest of northern Minnesota, most of Iowa, northern Missouri, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin saw abnormal dryness and moderate drought (D0-D1) decrease in coverage.

Severe drought (D2) did improve slightly in eastern Michigan. However, abnormal normal dryness and moderate drought expanded in western Michigan. Abnormal dryness (D0) was removed from southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, while abnormal dryness and moderate drought expanded across northern Indiana into northwestern Ohio.
 
South
Soggy weather was found throughout much of the South this past week. Texas once again saw several rain events that brought localized flooding, with some drought improvements in the north part of the Hill Country.  However, the long-term drought signal is still holding on in portions of southwest Texas as recharge to depleted water systems has been slow.

Abnormal dryness to exceptional drought (D0-D4) all shrunk in coverage in southern Texas near the San Antonio region. Though, a small portion of exceptional drought (D4) remains. West Texas remained unchanged this week, with deep drought remaining in the Trans-Pecos. Meanwhile, a small area of abnormal dryness (D0) was removed in southeastern Arkansas. Abnormal dryness (D0) did expand in parts of eastern Tennessee.
 
Southeast
Most of the Southeast saw wet, active weather this week. The exception was parts of Alabama into the Florida Panhandle, which had a fairly dry week. The greatest rains occurred over southern Florida, eastern Georgia, western South Carolinas and throughout much of Virginia and North Carolina.

Extreme drought (D3) was removed in Palm Beach County in southeastern Florida but was added to the everglades of Miami-Dade County in southwestern portions of the state. Abnormal dryness (D0) was also reduced across eastern and central Florida.

Outside of Florida, the region remains drought-free with only pockets of abnormally dry conditions being depicted. Abnormally dry (D0) conditions were introduced into eastern and northern Georgia as well as southern Virginia.
 
Northeast
Rainfall was abundant throughout much of the Northeast this past week. Coastal areas from Maryland into Massachusetts all recorded at least 200-percent of normal rain for the week. However, areas of Maine and along the Great Lakes were fairly dry, with most areas at 50-percent or less of normal rainfall.

The wetter weather pattern allowed for the reduction and removal of abnormally dryness conditions in southern New York, eastern Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania. One small pocket of moderate drought remains on Cape Cod, but otherwise, the entire Northeast is drought-free.
 
Looking Ahead Through July 22nd
There is no end in sight to this weather pattern over the next week. Multiple weather systems and cold fronts will move across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. during this time. The result will continue to be daily or almost daily chances for showers and thunderstorms east of the Rockies. The best chance for beneficial rainfall and improving drought and dry conditions would be the High Plains, Midwest and Southeast.

Monsoonal moisture will also stream northward into the Four Corner states and parts of the northern Rockies. This will also create daily chances for rain, which will most likely help with drought conditions in parts of the Southwest and Rockies.

Sadly, high pressure will continue to remain located over the West. Dry weather and worsening drought and dry conditions are expected, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

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Source: U.S. Drought Monitor