Normal Moisture Levels Return To Hannibal, St Louis

Drought conditions in Missouri as of November 1st, 2022. (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.)

Beneficial rains across Southern and Central Missouri helped to take two areas of the state off the Drought Monitor. The weekly update indicates that Hannibal, St Louis, and surrounding areas in 12 counties are no longer abnormally dry. Western Morgan and northwestern Camden counties also exited abnormal dryness in the past week, with surrounding areas also enjoying an upgrade from moderate drought. Areas in South Central Missouri that fell into drought last week, including Dent, Gasconade, Phelps, St François, Texas, Washington, eastern Maries and Osage, northern Reynolds and Shannon, southern Laclede and Pulaski, and most of Iron counties, returned to abnormally dry condition. Moderate drought conditions also subsided in Lewis, Marion, eastern Shelby, and northern Monroe counties in Northeast Missouri. An area of Central Missouri, stretching from Decaturville to Iberia, north through Jefferson City and Columbia to Moberly, was upgraded from severe to moderate drought, as was nearly all of Howard County.

Cooper, northern Moniteau, western Boone, southeastern Saline and northeastern Pettis counties received an upgrade from extreme to severe drought. However, the worst drought conditions remain anchored on Barton and Vernon counties in Southwest Missouri, along with four Southeast Missouri counties and much of the Kansas City metro, accounting for 9.1 percent of the state. Severe drought is present in nearly 28 percent of Missouri, with 24.3 percent in moderate drought. Another 31.2 percent is classed as abnormally dry.