According to the U.S. Drought Monitor for Aug. 7 released Aug. 9, moisture deficits have been slowly increasing in northern parts of the High Plains region for the past several weeks. However, significant deficits are patchy and relatively short-term in nature, so only modest D0 and D1 expansion was brought into the drier parts of the Dakotas. Severe to exceptional drought is limited to southern parts of this region, primarily in south-central through western Colorado and parts of central and eastern Kansas. Drought conditions were essentially unchanged here, save for some small, spotty areas of improvement in eastern Kansas. Between these two areas, across southeastern Colorado and western Kansas, above-normal rainfall has been the rule for the past few months. The 90-day rainfall totaled 4 to locally 10 inches more than normal here. To wit, broadscale improvement was assessed, eliminating dryness in much of southwestern Kansas, and leaving moderate to severe drought covering most of southeastern Colorado.
In the Midwest, moderate to heavy rain fell last week on some of the D0 and D1 areas across the Great Lakes region and adjacent Ohio and Indiana, improving conditions in a few areas from the northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan southward, but only light amounts fell on the southwestern shores of Lake Erie, central Ohio, and the northern reaches of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Broad D1 expansion was brought into the latter region, while abnormal dryness and moderate drought pushed slightly eastward in northeastern and north-central Ohio. D0 to D1 areas generally persisted elsewhere north and east of Missouri, with relatively small areas of deterioration noted in northwestern Minnesota and central Iowa. Severe to extreme drought, with a small patch of exceptional drought, are limited to the central and western sections of Missouri and a small part of adjacent Iowa. Severe to extreme drought coverage expanded most notably in southwestern Missouri, where livestock and crops have been seriously impacted. Farther north, the new D4 area encompasses an area of extremely low 2- to 6-month rainfall (half-year deficits generally exceed ten inches). City Reservoir (serving Hamilton, MO and nearby areas) lake level has been dropping about two inches per week, and is now 70 inches below the spillway and just 26 inches above the intake pipe. If the trend continues, water would drop below pipe level in three months. This would mandate unprecedented water restrictions, including the closure of non-essential businesses.
