George Frey
By Joe Edwards
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A new nationwide drought map provides a snapshot of conditions across the U.S. as July approaches, revealing a mix of stubborn dry areas, recent improvements and warnings.
The U.S. Drought Monitor released the most recent iteration detailing conditions across the country on Thursday, with officials highlighting heat and dry weather in the Western U.S. that led to worsening drought and increasing wildfire risk.
AccuWeather meteorologist Chad Merrill told Newsweek that some improvements would be short-lived.
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He said: "Drought has improved from Texas into the Southeast with the latest update. This is largely due to the rainfall from Tropical Storm Arthur.
But these areas will likely dry out over the next two weeks as a strong high pressure builds across the South.
"Flash drought could redevelop due to the heat and dry weather by mid-July," said Merrill.
The latest figures underscore how widespread and intense drought conditions have become across several regions, with some areas hitting the top tier on the monitor’s five-level scale.
At least 43 percent of the U.S. is experiencing at least some levels of drought, the map showed.
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The Drought Monitor’s map shows where drought is occurring nationwide and how severe it is, using five categories:
- D0—Abnormally Dry
- D1—Moderate Drought
- D2—Severe Drought
- D3—Extreme Drought
- D4—Exceptional Drought
Thursday’s release shows that parts of the West, High Plains, South and Southeast have continued to experience "exceptional" drought—the most severe level (D4).
Severe to extreme drought persists across the Carolinas and the Delmarva Peninsula, Merrill said, adding that next week’s Drought Monitor would likely reflect some improvement in the Delmarva, as the current report did not fully account for rainfall that occurred after the 8 a.m. Tuesday data cutoff.
Besides drought intensification in northern Minnesota and some drought removal in southeastern Texas, drought conditions will largely continue in Arkansas and across the western half of the Plains.
The pattern in July will bring widely spaced shower and thunderstorm complexes. The drought will continue to hold in the western part of the Plains.
"The drought removal we saw in parts of southeast Texas with today's update will likely fill back in with short-term drought with a dry and warmer pattern expected," said Merrill.
The drought will expand in the upper part of the Corn Belt while some addition of abnormally dry designation will be added to the southern part of the region in July due to hot temperatures and likely slightly below average rainfall.
"This drought is a long-standing one," said Merrill. "We will see the drought intensify in the Mountain West and expand more into the Northwest and northern part of the Rockies going through July."
This is due to a dry and warmer pattern following a storm this weekend in the Northwest. A couple of spots in the Southwest will see some drought improvement in July but there will not be any large, regional improvements. This would be due to the monsoon season picking up and showers and storms becoming more frequent.
"In mid to late July, there will likely be some contribution of the rain from an East Pacific tropical storm or hurricane," said Merrill. "There could be pockets of flash flooding that comes with these small pockets of drought improvement.
"In no way will the drought be completely removed in the Southwest in July. The current drought will likely hold steady in Utah and Colorado going through July despite a few episodes of rain and thunderstorms."
Water Concerns Remain for Drought-Stricken Colorado River
The map depicted widespread drought conditions of varying degrees across the West—where officials and experts continue to raise alarms over the embattled Colorado River system, which provides water to some 40 million people throughout the region.
Federal water managers have warned that Lake Powell—the U.S.’ second-largest reservoir—could sink to levels that threaten hydropower production by next year. Forecasts for Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, also paint a grim picture as water levels decline.
"As chronic drought lingers for decade after decade across the American Southwest, surface and groundwater reserves are being depleted. You see this from the Colorado River Basin to the Rio Grande," said USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey, who authored the latest Drought Monitor map.
"The low-storage problem will not go away with a single wet year or years; it would take a permanently wetter regime to bring these large watersheds back from the brink of water exhaustion. It does not help that the world is a much warmer place than it was five decades ago, leading to higher evaporation rates and heavier irrigation demands."
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