Two More Stretches Of Missouri Enter Drought

Drought conditions in Missouri as of Dec. 19th, 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.)

Wide areas of Eastern and Southern Missouri experienced another dry week, dropping into the next stage of drought conditions on this week’s US Drought Monitor. The weekly update downgraded Texas, Webster, Wright, eastern Greene, northern and eastern Polk, southern Reynolds and central Shannon counties to severe drought from moderate. Southern Missouri’s Christian, Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Ripley, and most of Taney counties entered moderate drought, as did Callaway, Lincoln, Montgomery and northern Warren counties in Eastern Missouri.

Parts of Mississippi and New Madrid counties that weren’t abnormally dry last week entered that category. However, a majority of Jackson County along with northern Cass County exited abnormal dryness to give Missouri 0.75 percent of the state in normal or excess moisture. 83.8 percent of Missouri is in some stage of drought, including 1.3 percent still in extreme drought and 40.8 percent in severe drought.