Drought outlook shows improvement in Iowa, while conditions worsen in Texas and Kansas

The latest Seasonal Drought Outlook was released by the National Weather Service on May 16, and shows that drought conditions have improved week over week in the Midwest due to increased rainfall in May. Iowa is one of the states benefiting from the increased precipitation, and conditions are expected to continue to improve over the next three months in the state. In some parts of Texas and western Kansas, however, rainfall has been lacking and drought is expected to continue. 

Iowa

In Iowa, the Seasonal Drought Outlook shows that precipitation in May has helped ease drought conditions with the removal of D3 extreme drought conditions within the state. According to the National Weather Service, Iowa has had some form of D3 extreme drought or greater “present somewhere in the state going all the way back to late June 2022.”

The latest drought monitor map for Iowa shows 16% of Iowa is in D2 severe drought, 11% is in D1 moderate drought, 20% is abnormally dry, and the remaining 53% is free from drought stress.

The Seasonal Drought Outlook shows Iowa is expected to experience improvements in drought conditions throughout the early June, July, and August season. 

Texas

According to the Seasonal Drought Outlook, some parts of eastern Texas have received more than 20 inches of rain over the last month, resulting in widespread flash flooding. Much of this precipitation fell in areas that aren’t experiencing drought conditions. 

Southern Texas is among the areas of the state that haven’t received much rainfall, explains the Seasonal Drought Outlook. This has led to worsening drought conditions in those areas. 

According to the Drought Summary for May 14, record-breaking temperatures of more than 120°F in Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen, paired with “a lack of measurable precipitation,” have been primary drivers in the degradation of conditions in southern Texas.

The Drought Summary notes that, along with the southern portion of the state experiencing an increase in drought conditions, the panhandle has experienced a lack of rainfall. This has resulted in worsening drought conditions in the area.

Central and eastern Texas, however, received between 2 to 5-inches of rainfall over the past week, according to the Drought Summary.

The latest drought monitor map for Texas shows 2% of the state in D3 extreme drought, 11% is in D2 severe drought, 13% is in D1 moderate drought, 23% is abnormally dry, and the remaining 51% is drought free.

Drought conditions are expected to worsen through the end of August for portions of western Texas, according to the Seasonal Drought Outlook. This is due to anticipated warmer and drier conditions beginning in June.

Kansas

Western Kansas continues to see an increase in drought conditions, with D3 extreme drought conditions now present in four counties, according to the latest drought monitor map.

The drought monitor map for Kansas shows that less than 1% of the state is in D3 extreme drought, 32% is in D2 severe drought, 17% is in D1 moderate drought, 29% is abnormally dry, and the remaining 22% is free from drought stress.

According to the Drought Summary for May 14, trace amounts of precipitation fell in western Kansas, while the rest of the state received measurable rainfall. 

Christopher Redmond, assistant meteorologist at Kansas State University, says that most of Kansas has received a “fair amount of moisture” over the week of May 12. While the rainfall hasn’t been heavy in some areas, Redmond says portions of southwest and south central Kansas were among the parts of the state to receive the much-needed precipitation.

Redmond says that the rainfall will help sustain crops — however he notes that some crops, like the state’s winter wheat, have already been significantly impacted by long-term drought conditions. Currently, the USDA Crop Progress report ranks winter wheat in Kansas as the worst in the nation, with 35% of the crop rated poor/very poor.