Abnormal Dryness Now Stretching Into St Louis

Drought conditions in Missouri as of November 9th, 2021. (The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.)

The heart of Missouri’s wine country is a bit drier than usual. USDA’s weekly Drought Monitor update shows the development of abnormally dry conditions from Jefferson City downriver into a majority of Franklin, Gasconade, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, and Warren counties. Parts of Callaway, Cole, Jefferson, Lincoln, Montgomery and Osage counties are also impacted by this expanded patch of pre-drought conditions. Three patches remain from previous reports: Macon and Randolph counties in North Central Missouri, Nodaway and northern Andrew counties in the Northwest, and Carter, Oregon and Ripley counties in the South Central. Moderate drought continues in the corners of those three counties as well.

10.6 percent of Missouri is impacted by drought or abnormally dry conditions, an increase of 3.3 percentage points from last week.