Severe Drought Emerges Near Lead Belt, Rest Of Missouri Going Dry Again

Drought conditions in Missouri as of Mar. 5th, 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.)

A lack of rain for much of Missouri has all but the western portions of McDonald and Newton counties appearing on this week’s Drought Monitor. The most serious development on the monitor is the emergence of severe drought for Crawford, Washington, northeastern Dent, most of Iron, western Madison, eastern Maries, northern and central Phelps, northeastern Reynolds, and the neighboring edges of Franklin, Gasconade, Osage, and St François counties. Moderate drought also expanded this week, spreading west into Springfield and Warsaw, as well as making a return to Cooper, Howard and Morgan counties in Central Missouri. St Charles and eastern Warren counties also returned to moderate drought, as did eastern Perry and most of Cape Girardeau counties. Northwest Missouri saw all of Atchison, Buchanan, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway, Platte and Worth counties enter drought, as did the western portions of Andrew, Clay, and Clinton counties.

Just over 0.5 percent of Missouri is out of drought or abnormal dryness, while 5.5 percent of the state is in severe drought. Another 40.1 percent is in the first stage of drought, leaving the remaining 53.9 percent of the state in abnormal dryness.