More Of Northern, Southwest Missouri Drying Up

Drought conditions in Missouri as of Apr. 16th, 2024. (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.)

More areas of Western Missouri entered moderate drought according to this week’s US Drought Monitor. The weekly update indicates the expansion of the first stage of drought into Buchanan, Clinton, southern DeKalb, southern Daviess, and western Grundy counties in Northwest Missouri. Most of Newton County in southwest Missouri also entered the first stage of drought. Abnormal dryness also arrived into a majority of Carroll, Livingston and Sullivan counties.

Meanwhile, Eastern Missouri saw improvements, with severe drought now limited to just Reynolds, eastern Shannon, and northwestern Carter counties. Moderate drought retreated out of Jefferson, northernmost St François, and most of Perry counties, along with northeastern Pemiscot and the southern tips of Mississippi and New Madrid counties. Abnormal dryness also came to an end for St Charles and St Louis counties.

33.6 percent of Missouri is in some stage of drought, including 1.6 percent in severe drought. Another 36 percent of the state is in abnormal dryness, leaving 30.4 percent of the state in normal or excess moisture.