U.S. Drought Monitor - Latest Update (June 5, 2014)

Looking Ahead

Moderate to very heavy rain is expected across large parts of the dry areas in the central and south-central Plains, the Tennessee Valley, and the southern Appalachians during June 5 – 9, 2014. Generally 1.5 to 3.5 inches are forecast across the entire dry area from north Mississippi and west Tennessee eastward through the southern Appalachians. Farther west, precipitation may be heavier and even more widespread. Amounts near or over 2 inches are anticipated from western Nebraska, Kansas, southern Iowa, Missouri, and western Illinois southward through the northern half of Arkansas, almost all of Oklahoma, and the north-central and eastern Panhandle portions of Texas. The heaviest amounts, ranging from 3.0 to 5.5 inches, are expected in the southwestern half of Missouri, central and eastern Kansas, central and northeastern Oklahoma, and adjacent Arkansas. Elsewhere, the forecast is for 0.5 to 1.5 inch of rain in south Florida and south-central Virginia, plus most of the High Plains, northern Great Plains, upper Midwest, southern Arkansas, central and northeast Texas, and the west half of the Texas Panhandle. South of this area, anywhere from a few hundredths of an inch to near 0.5 inch is forecast in west-central, southern, and eastern Texas as well as Louisiana and southern Mississippi, with amounts expected to decrease going southward to the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico. In sharp contrast, areas from the eastern Rockies westward to the Pacific Ocean are likely to get no measurable rainfall.

The ensuing 5 days (June 10 – 14, 2014) features enhanced chances for above-normal rainfall across the dry area in the southern Appalachians, Tennessee Valley, and upper Southeast once again. The odds also favor surplus rainfall in the lower Mississippi Valley, east Texas, and from eastern Nebraska and most of Iowa northward through the dry areas in the northern Plains. On the other hand, most of the High Plains, the southwestern Great Plains, the eastern tier of the Rockies, central and northern Utah, the northern half of the Intermountain West, central and northern California, and all but the northernmost tier of the Pacific Northwest seem more likely to end up drier than normal for the period. Across the D0 area in Alaska, the odds don’t favor unusually wet or dry weather along the south-central coast, but odds lean toward above-normal precipitation in the rest of that region.

For more information or regional drought conditions visit http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/