Severe Drought Is Going Back To Kansas City

Drought conditions in Missouri as of Oct. 17th, 2023. (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.)

All but the southwestern corner of the Kansas City metropolitan area was downgraded to severe drought in this week’s monitor. The weekly update shows severe drought entering Clay, Clinton, Platte, and eastern Buchanan counties in the past week. Northern Jackson and southern Caldwell counties also experienced a downgrade from moderate. Elsewhere in Northwest Missouri, moderate drought arrived in Harrison, northern Gentry, northeastern Holt, southern Nodaway, and southeastern Worth counties. Outside of St Louis, the southern quarter of Jefferson County has entered drought, as have southern Crawford, eastern Dent, eastern Phelps and eastern Shannon counties. Severe drought also arrived in southwestern Franklin and northern Crawford counties. One area of improvement appeared west of St Charles, as southwestern Lincoln and northern Warren counties exited moderate drought to return to abnormal dryness.

62.8 percent of Missouri is in some stage of drought, up 3.1 percentage points from a week ago. The area in extreme drought remains unchanged at 10.3 percent, while 21.5 percent of the state is in severe drought. 21.9 percent of Missouri is in abnormal dryness.