Great Plains See Continued Drought Relief

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report showed a mixed landscape across the country as of July 8. Heavy rainfall helped shrink drought coverage and intensity across large parts of the High Plains and Midwest, continuing a gradual recovery trend seen since spring. Much of the Corn Belt remains drought-free, though pockets of dryness are beginning to creep back.

Meanwhile, drought worsened and spread in the Pacific Northwest, and long-term drought persists stubbornly in south-central Texas. For producers in the nation’s central regions, summer storms brought welcome relief — but not everywhere benefited equally.

High Plains

Heavy rainfall, locally exceeding two inches, fell across parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and eastern Wyoming, leading to notable improvements in drought coverage and intensity. For much of the High Plains, April through early July precipitation has now reached more than 150% of normal.

“Weather has been just about ideal for corn and soybeans in Nebraska over the past week,” shared Travis Gustafson, Agronomic Service Representative for Syngenta Crop Protection. “Highs have been in the 80s with humidity levels that make it slightly uncomfortable for people but perfect for corn.”

While he’s optimistic, he reminded everyone, “Nebraska is always about a week away from a drought, especially as the crop gets into the high water demand growth stages.”

In northeastern North Dakota, moderate drought (D1) expanded westward due to another dry week and above-normal temperatures. Eastern Kansas has missed out on the heavy rainfall recently and abnormal dryness (D0) was added to that part of the state. 

Midwest

In the Midwest, the drought conditions are more mixed. While heavier rainfall brought relief to parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota — and trimmed back abnormal dryness in eastern lower Michigan — northern Illinois is trending in the opposite direction. Increasing 30- to 60-day precipitation deficits, higher water demand from above-normal temperatures, and signs of crop stress triggered a one-category drought intensification in that area.

Ryan Gentle, Wyffels agronomist, shared it’s been hot in Illinois.

“Most days last week saw heat indices of 100°F,” he said. “Most of the area did get some rain in pop-up storms. It was perfect timing for the pollinating corn.”

Degradations were also reported in parts of Indiana, western Ohio, northwestern Kentucky, and northwestern Missouri.

South

Further south, long-term drought that has plagued parts of Texas saw improvement due to widespread heavy rainfall. Even so, deep, long-standing deficits mean that exceptional drought conditions (D4) remain in places like Medina and Uvalde counties, where groundwater and reservoir levels are still critically low.

Forecast

Looking ahead, forecasts show another round of thunderstorms could target the upper Mississippi Valley and western Corn Belt between July 10 and 14, bringing locally heavy rainfall. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day outlook favors above-normal precipitation across much of the eastern two-thirds of the contiguous U.S., which could further ease drought concerns — though the Pacific Northwest remains at risk for continued dryness and heat.