Severe Drought Disappears From Central Missouri

Areas of West Central and Southwest Missouri saw improvements in this week’s Drought Monitor.  The weekly update removed the patch of severe drought that stretched from Higginsville east toward Columbia, impacting ten counties along Interstate 70 and the Missouri River.  Extreme drought also eased in Southwest Missouri, with just the western quarter of Barton County still in the third stage of drought.  Most of Bates, Camden, Cass, Cole, Dallas, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Laclede, Maries, Miller, Osage, Pulaski, St Clair, and Webster, along with southern Johnson and Pettis counties, exited drought conditions but remain abnormally dry.  Conditions returned to normal for a majority of Barry, Christian, Douglas, Stone, and Taney counties, as well as the southern half of Webster County.  The eastern half of Ralls County also exited abnormal dryness.

Overall 40.2 percent of Missouri is in some stage of drought, a 10.74-point improvement from last week.  0.48 percent of the state is still in extreme drought, while another eight-point-four percent is in severe drought.  Another 40.8 percent of the state is in abnormal dryness.