Visit the NDMC Photo Gallery to see photos of drought conditions in California, Georgia, South Carolina, and other states. If you have photos showing drought conditions, please consider submitting them to the Photo Gallery.

The data cutoff for Drought Monitor maps is Tuesday at 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

NOTE: To view regional drought conditions, click on map below. State maps can be accessed from regional maps.

To compare current drought conditions with last week’s map, click here.

National Drought Summary -- September 16, 2008

The discussion in the Looking Ahead section is simply a description of what the official national guidance from the National Weather Service (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction is depicting for current areas of dryness and drought. The NWS forecast products utilized include the HPC 5-day QPF and 5-day Mean Temperature progs, the 6-10 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, and the 8-14 Day Outlooks of Temperature and Precipitation Probability, valid as of late Wednesday afternoon of the USDM release week. The NWS forecast web page used for this section is: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/forecasts/.

The Great Lakes Region:  Some improvements in drought conditions were made in several areas including Pennsylvania, Ohio, southern Michigan, and Indiana.  A strong cold front, as well as remnants of tropical systems, brought substantial precipitation to these areas.  This resulted in one-category improvements in the region between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie along the Michigan border.  A reduction in the extent of D1 and D0 in Pennsylvania is also depicted in this week’s map.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan also received significant rainfall over the current Drought Monitor period, amounting to an improvement in the drought in the northern peninsula, including Houghton and Keweenaw counties.  D0 was also reduced in the central part of the Upper Peninsula. 

Upper Midwest and Plains:  A mixed bag of wet and dry conditions across this region led to expanded drought in central Wisconsin, and reductions in drought in Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado.  In Wisconsin, D0 and D1 were introduced in the north central part of the state, due to lack of rainfall during the summer growing season.  Minnesota D0 was removed around Red Lake, and along the Wisconsin border between the Twin Cities and Duluth.  North Dakota experienced deterioration and alleviation in dry conditions, with improvements in the central part of the state.  The southwest corner continues to miss out on rainfall, and the agricultural sector is heavily impacted.  D2 and D3 were brought into this area.

Recent rains in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa led to contraction of D0, and removal of all D1 in this region.  The Colorado Front Range experienced some heavy rains on September 11-12, alleviating some of the drought, improving D1 in the Denver area.  Baca County in southeastern Colorado also showed some improvement.  Oklahoma was the beneficiary of Tropical Storm Lowell, leaving most of the state drought-free, with the exception of the western panhandle region.

Texas and the Southeast:  Hurricane Ike brought much relief to the parched state of Texas, following the eighth wettest August on record.  In west Texas, D3 was removed entirely, with many other large improvements of two drought categories in this area.  Non-tropical storm rainfall has also contributed to this region, and the Rio Grande is experiencing major flooding.  D0 was also removed west of the Pecos River.  In central Texas, D0 was largely unnecessary north of Waco, and rainfall from Ike provided much relief.  In the driest of areas, significant improvements in drought severity were made from Galveston northward and along the coastal counties.  A tight gradient from Burleson to Brazos County was formed.

In North Carolina, some improvements were warranted in the west central portion of the state, leading to reduction in D3 and D2 extent in this area.  Northeastern Alabama benefited from wetter conditions this past week, contributing to a one-category change in drought severity.

The West and Alaska:  Few changes were made in this region due to overall near normal dry conditions.  D0 was expanded in southern Utah into central Kane and Garfield counties to reflect precipitation deficits over the last three months.  D0 was introduced in northwestern Alaska to reflect recent dry conditions over the last several weeks.

Puerto Rico and Hawaii:  After improvement of drought conditions in Puerto Rico last week, this week remained status quo with no significant precipitation to provide further relief.  In Hawaii, pasture and irrigation reservoirs remained in poor condition on Molokai, leading to the introduction of D3 on the island.  Lanai and western Maui are also experiencing degrading pasture conditions, leading to a D1 designation.  Worsening of drought severity in central Maui led to further degradations as well.  D0 was degraded to D1 on the Big Island because of more agriculture and water storage concerns.

Looking Ahead:  Little, if any, tropical activity is on the horizon, so drought conditions may remain status quo or worsen along our Gulf and Atlantic coast states in the next Drought Monitor period.  Abnormally high temperatures are projected around the heart of the North Dakota and Montana drought area.  For the next six to ten days, a trough pattern in the western US will bring cooler and wetter conditions, particularly to the Pacific Northwest.  The northern Rockies are forecast to have some precipitation in the first few days of the next Drought Monitor period.  A ridge over Alaska is projected to create warmer and drier conditions.  The eastern US is projected to have widespread warmer than normal temperatures.  In the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, slightly drier conditions may be expected.

Author: Laura Edwards, Western Regional Climate Center

D0 ... Abnormally Dry ... used for areas showing dryness but not yet in drought, or for areas recovering from drought.

Drought Intensity Categories
D1 ... Moderate Drought
D2 ... Severe Drought
D3 ... Extreme Drought
D4 ... Exceptional Drought

Drought or Dryness Types
A ... Agricultural
H ... Hydrological

Updated September 17, 2008