According to the June 6, 2023 U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 18.3% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 15.8%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) decreased from 2.7% last week to 2.0%.
The upper-level circulation over North America during this U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) week (May 31–June 6) was dominated by a huge high-pressure ridge that began the week over the northeastern contiguous U.S. and migrated to the central portions of the continent as the week progressed. The ridge was flanked to the east and west by upper-level low-pressure troughs, while low-pressure systems moving across the southern contiguous U.S. undercut the ridge. Each of these circulation features affected the weather differently over the contiguous U.S. this week. The upper-level ridge kept much of the contiguous U.S. and central Canada dry, and it was responsible for much-above-normal temperatures across the northern tier states, the Upper to Middle Mississippi Valley, and south-central Canada.
The southern lows and their remnant fronts brought above-normal precipitation to parts of the Gulf of Mexico coast, including the southern half of Florida, and cooler-than-normal weather across the southern-tier states. The upper-level trough over eastern North America gave Maine a wetter-than-normal week, but a northerly flow associated with the trough spread smoke from Canadian wildfires across eastern portions of the contiguous U.S. Cold fronts associated with the western trough generated above-normal precipitation across parts of the West, but the fronts stalled out when they collided with the ridge. A southerly flow between the western trough and central ridge funneled Gulf of Mexico moisture into the Great Plains.
This moisture fed the showers and thunderstorms that developed along the stalled fronts, resulting in above-normal precipitation across western portions of the Plains. The heat and persistent dry weather prompted continued expansion of drought and abnormal dryness across the Midwest and much of the Northeast, as well as parts of the Pacific Northwest. Heavy rains contracted or reduced the intensity of drought and abnormal dryness across parts of the West, Great Plains, and western Florida. Nationally, expansion exceeded contraction, with the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area increasing this week.
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 153 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 49.4% 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 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.
