According to the July 11, 2023 U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 22.5% of the United States including Puerto Rico, a slight decrease from last week’s 22.6%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) decreased slightly from 2.3% last week to 2.2%.
The upper-level circulation over the contiguous U.S. during this U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) week (July 5–11) consisted of a high-pressure ridge that extended across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to the southwestern U.S., with the storm track located along the northern tier states. The ridge over the Southwest extended northward, keeping much of the western contiguous U.S. drier and warmer than normal.
Weekly temperatures averaged above-normal across the Gulf of Mexico Coast and East Coast, with temperature anomalies especially warm over the Northeast. Pacific weather systems tracked along the northern tier states. After they crossed the Rockies, they sent cold fronts and surface low pressure systems eastward and southward across the contiguous U.S. The fronts tapped Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic moisture to spread above-normal precipitation across the central Rockies to southern Plains, across the Gulf of Mexico states, over much of the Northeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley states. Rain was locally heavy, producing areas of flooding in Oklahoma and the Northeast. The fronts and rain also kept temperatures below normal across the northern and central Plains to Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.
Drought or abnormal dryness contracted or was reduced in intensity in areas that were wetter than normal, especially in parts of the West, Plains, Midwest, and Northeast. But drought or abnormal dryness expanded or intensified where dryness continued, especially across parts of the Pacific Northwest, southern Plains, and Mid- to Upper Mississippi Valley.
Nationally, contraction edged out expansion, so the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area decreased slightly this week. Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 152 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 49.0% 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 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. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agriculture Outlook Board also provides information about the drought’s influence on crops and livestock.
For additional drought information, follow #DroughtMonitor on Facebook and Twitter.
