Drought Conditions Ease Across Central U.S.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released its latest update on Thursday, June 19, showing widespread drought improvement across the northern and central Plains and the upper Midwest. Thanks to recent rainfall, drought-free conditions now stretch from the southern Plains to the Atlantic Coast.

Midwest

Going in to this week’s report, drought covered less than 9% of the Midwest. Rainfall helped reduce areas of abnormal dryness (D0) and moderate to severe drought (D1 to D2), although not all locations saw meaningful relief. The most notable improvements were in the upper Great Lakes and western Corn Belt.

Topsoil moisture ratings from the USDA’s Crop Progress report as of June 15 showed Iowa leading the region with 27% rated very short to short. Michigan followed with 22%, and then Illinois with 19%, Wisconsin with 18%, Minnesota with 18%, Indiana with 14%, Missouri with 8%, Ohio with 2%, and Kentucky with 1%.

Last week the weather was fairly mild from what Nick Groth, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection covering the state of Wisconsin, experienced.

“Northern Wisconsin received a lot of rain over the week,” said Groth. “At this point they really didn’t need it, but the weekend brought dryer and warmer weather so conditions should be improving.”

Illinois agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection Phil Krieg used one word to describe the conditions: wet.

“Wheat should be ready to harvest but, with limited sunshine, the last few points of moisture are slipping away slowly,” said Krieg. “Soil conditions are very saturated, and growers are concerned about getting the combines through the fields without cutting ruts that will impact double crop planting.”

High Plains

Rainfall brought noticeable drought improvement across much of the High Plains, though some areas continued to struggle with drought-related agricultural challenges. As of June 15, USDA data showed topsoil moisture rated very short to short ranged from 19% in Kansas to 50% in Wyoming.

Rangeland and pasture conditions reflected ongoing stress: 36% of Wyoming’s acres were in very poor to poor condition, followed by Nebraska at 30%. Northeastern North Dakota missed the rain altogether and moderate drought (D1) expanded.

Forecast

Conditions are expected to change quickly. According to the report, active weather will shift eastward in the coming days, while a hotter, drier pattern takes hold across the nation’s midsection and rapidly expands. While 1 to 3 inches of rain could fall across the eastern one-third of the country, precipitation will become increasingly limited by the weekend, with hot and dry weather dominating much of the country.

During the weekend, high temperatures are forecast to top 100°F in parts of the western Corn Belt, reaching as far north as South Dakota. Much of the Midwest is expected to see highs near 95°F. Cooler air will begin moving into the northern High Plains by Sunday, bringing showers from the Pacific Northwest into Montana. In the East, the season’s first major heat wave is expected to linger into early next week, with temperatures approaching 100°F at lower elevations from Georgia to southern New England.