Clark, Lewis Counties Descend Into Extreme Drought As Ashland, Warrensburg Escape To Severe

Drought conditions in Missouri as of June 13th, 2023. (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.)

Nearly 91 percent of Missouri is witnessing some form of drought or abnormal dryness, including eight percent of the state now in extreme drought. This week’s update to the US Drought Monitor shows an expansion of extreme drought into western Lewis and southwestern Clark counties, as well as eastern Adair, southern Knox, and the southeastern corner of Schuyler counties. This expansion was partially offset by central and northern Johnson County, along with neighboring areas of Pettis and Saline counties west of Route 127, being upgraded from extreme to severe. Southern Boone County also experienced an upgrade to severe.

Scattered showers around the state last week led to several changes. Macon, Putnam, Sullivan, and northeastern Linn counties fell into severe drought, while eastern Audrain, northwestern Johnson, southern Lafayette, northern Montgomery, and Jackson County east of Route 7 were upgraded to moderate drought. Eastern St Charles and northern St Louis counties saw improvement to moderate drought, and a majority of Lincoln County is in post-drought stage. Most of St Louis City is also in abnormal dryness, while southern St Louis County has dropped into moderate drought.

Another week without significant rain in the Bootheel now has their three counties along with southeastern Butler, southern Mississippi, and southern Stoddard counties in moderate drought. Abnormal dryness closed into more areas of the Ozarks, with Reynolds, Wayne, and eastern Shannon counties now in pre-drought condition. In total, 56.5 percent of Missouri is experiencing some stage of drought, while 34.1 percent are in abnormal dryness.