Fields In Little Dixie Are A Little Crispy

Abnormally dry conditions have spread across sizable portions of Missouri in the past week.  The latest USDA Drought Monitor indicates two large patches covering over a quarter of the state.  In the north, roughly the entirety of Highway 36 is now in pre-drought stage, stretching from east of Saint Joseph all the way to Canton.  The patch that had been over Boone and Cooper counties is now part of this larger patch, which now goes west to Warrensburg and east toward Washington and Union.  The patch that had begun over Stone and Barry counties has ballooned to encompass the 11 southwesternmost counties in Missouri.  Smaller patches have appeared over portions of Clark, Mercer, Putnam and Sullivan counties in North Missouri and Carter, Oregon, Ripley and Shannon counties in South Central Missouri.

27.67 percent of Missouri is now in abnormally dry stage, an increase of 20.4 percentage points from last week.  However, no part of the state has returned to drought conditions.  By comparison, 41 percent of Iowa and 38 percent of Nebraska are in some stage of drought, continuing to deal with dry conditions that have lingered throughout the year.