Drought Turns Severe In St Charles County

Drought conditions in Missouri as of December 28th, 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.)

For the first time in 13 months, severe drought is present in part of Missouri. USDA’s Drought Monitor indicates that areas of southern St Charles and southeastern Warren counties, roughly along Route 94 between St Peters and Marthasville, will ring in the new year in the second stage of drought conditions. This stretch accounts for about 0.4 percent of Missouri’s area. The patch of moderate drought that stretches from Waynesville to St Louis remains unchanged, now accounting for 3.5 percent.

Abnormally dry conditions expanded in several parts of Missouri last week, increasing the area impacted to 45.26 percent. In Northeast Missouri, all of Knox County has entered pre-drought conditions, along with most of Lewis and Shelby counties and northwestern Marion County. Conditions also expanded in Southwest Missouri to cover Barton, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Polk, and northern Jasper and Laclede counties. Abnormal dryness re-emerged in parts of southeastern Missouri to affect northern Carter, southern Reynolds, and western Wayne counties.