NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Drought Conditions

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Local Drought Statement
Latest Drought Monitor Graphics
Soil Moisture
Long Range Outlook
Acknowledgements and Related Links

Drought statements are normally issued for eastern Iowa, northwest and west central Illinois, and extreme northeast Missouri when Severe Drought (D2+) or worse conditions develop over the region and are expected to persist.  Currently, these conditions are not observed.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a weekly collaborative effort between a number of federal agencies including NOAA/NWS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Details and explanations of the Drought Monitor can found at the web site: http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

Note:  Drought categories are based on broad-scale indicators over "climate districts" (the gray division lines on the U.S. map above).  The central Illinois map below it attempts to delineate the drought categories on a smaller scale map.  Note that because the categories do not follow county lines, the "transition areas" on the central Illinois map may be larger than indicated above.  Also, small-scale factors, such as localized heavy rain from thunderstorms, may affect the drought level over a small area, which may not necessarily be reflected in the maps above. 

The latest seasonal drought outlook from the Climate Prediction Center at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

Specific impacts from the drought are available on the Drought Impact Reporter at: http://droughtreporter.unl.edu

Moderate Drought (D1) - Some damage to crops, pastures; fire risk high; streams, reservoirs, or wells low, some water shortages developing or imminent, voluntary water use restrictions requested.

Severe Drought (D2) - Crop or pasture losses likely; fire risk very high; water shortages common; water restrictions imposed.

Extreme Drought (D3) - Major crop/pasture losses; extreme fire danger; widespread water shortages or restrictions.

Exceptional Drought (D4) - Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; exceptional fire risk; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells, creating water emergencies.
 

For the impact on crop conditions across Illinois, visit the USDA's Illinois Weather and Crop Information page at http://www.nass.usda.gov/il/
wc.htm
USDA's Iowa Crop Information page at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ia/cropreport.htm

For wildfire potential, visit the National Interagency Fire Center's Wildland Fire Assessment System page at: http://www.fs.fed.us/land/wfas/
wfas23.html

Precipitation forecasts for the next 5 days are available from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) Web Site:
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/day1-5.shtml

For updated temperature and precipitation probabilities consult the following Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Web Sites:

8 to 14 Day Outlook:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/

30 Day Outlook:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/

90 Day Outlook:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ products/predictions/long_range/lead02/off_index.html

The drought monitor is a multi-agency effort involving NOAA's National Weather Service and National Climatic Data Center, the USDA, State and Regional Center Climatologists and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Information for the drought statements has been gathered from NWS and FAA observation sites, Iowa State and Illinois Cooperative Extension Services, the USDA, COE and USGS.

Local weather, climate and water information - http://weather.gov/quadcities

Drought Monitor - http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/

Illinois State Water Survey Drought Site - http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/hilites/drought

Iowa State University Cooperative Extension Service - http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/droughtinfo.html

Missouri Department of Natural Resources - http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/droughtupdate.htm

Additional river information -
USGS - http://water.usgs.gov
COE - http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil

NOAA Drought Page - http://www.drought.noaa.gov
Climate Prediction Center - http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov
NIDIS - National Integrated Drought Information System  - http://www.drought.gov