Singular Abnormal Dryness Patch Covers 40 Percent Of Missouri

Drought conditions in Missouri as of March 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.)

Missouri’s two abnormal dry patches have become one in this week’s Drought Monitor update. Now, all areas of the state north and west of a line stretching through Joplin, Louisburg, Versailles, Sturgeon, Shelbyville, and La Grange are in pre-drought condition. 41.3 percent of Missouri land is impacted by dryness, but for the fourth straight week no part of the state has fallen into a drought category.

By comparison, 98 percent of Nebraska is in some stage of drought, along with 87 percent of Oklahoma and 73 percent of Kansas. Over half of Oklahoma is in extreme drought. The southern third of Arkansas remains in drought, along with 36 percent of Iowa and 13 percent of Illinois.