According to the February 1, 2022, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 46.3% of the United States including Puerto Rico, a slight increase from last week’s 46.1%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) stayed about the same at 10.2%.
The upper-level circulation pattern during this USDM week saw the continuation of a very strong ridge/trough pattern across the contiguous United States. The ridge over the West deflected Pacific fronts and low pressure systems to the north or south for much of the week. The Pacific weather systems were re-energized as they moved into the trough over the East, but they were mostly cut off from a moisture source, so the precipitation that they generated was mostly less than the weekly normal amounts. Rain or snow fell along the Pacific Northwest coast, in spotty areas across the Rockies, along parts of the Gulf of Mexico coast, and along the Northeast coast, but it was above normal only in parts of the western Plains and Texas coast. Drier-than-normal conditions dominated most of the country.
Weekly temperatures were warmer than normal across the northern and central Plains. But the upper-level trough kept temperatures colder than normal in the East, and Pacific fronts that penetrated the western ridge, especially near the end of the week, kept temperatures near to below average from the Rockies to West Coast.
Drought expansion and intensification occurred in a few parts of the Great Plains to Great Lakes, southern Appalachians, and Northeast. Drought contracted or was reduced in intensity in a few parts of the Rockies to southern Plains. Overall, expansion generally equaled contraction over the contiguous United States, with the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area changing little this week. Drought expanded in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, so the drought footprint across the 50 states and Puerto Rico grew this week.
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 147 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 47.4% of the population.
The full U.S. Drought Monitor weekly update is available from Drought.gov.
In addition to Drought.gov, you can find further information on the current drought as well as on this week’s Drought Monitor update at the National Drought Mitigation Center.
The most recent U.S. Drought Outlook is available from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides information about the drought’s influence on crops and livestock.
For additional drought information, follow #DroughtMonitor on Facebook and Twitter.
