Report on NOAA's Drought Monitor

AgWeb.com: According to NOAA's Drought Monitor... the frontal passage on Friday, June 29, brought beneficial rains to the Midwest and Ohio Valley. The moisture removed most of the D0 (abnormally dry) in Illinois and further reduced D0 in western Indiana. D1 (moderate drought) retreated southward in eastern Indiana but persisted in southern Ohio. In contrast, dry weather led to expansion of D1 in central and southern Minnesota and D0 across western Iowa and parts of eastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota. Rainfall has been under 40 percent of normal in this region during the past 30 days, leading to rapid drying of soil moisture.

Meanwhile, across the interior West, above-normal temperatures and little rain led to persisting drought from the Southwest desert region northward to the northern Rockies and Intermountain region, with D2 (severe drought) and D1 drought expanding northward in eastern Oregon and D1 drought migrating into southern Idaho. Dropping soil moisture levels due to hot, dry weather led to introduction of D3 (extreme) drought in western Nevada and adjacent areas of the California Sierra. High temperatures also contributed to some expansion of the D0 dry area in northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. Triple-digit heat reached from Colorado into Wyoming on July 2. Dry weather and temperatures averaging close to 4°F above normal led to expansion of D0 northward into southwestern North Dakota from western South Dakota. Drought also extended slightly eastward in southwestern South Dakota. Thirty-day rainfall less than one-half of normal led to D0 in far western Kansas. Flooding rains hit eastern Kansas and Oklahoma and Texas.