According to the September 20, 2022 U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 41.0% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 37.9%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) increased from 9.4% last week to 9.8%.
An upper-level ridge dominated the central contiguous U.S. during this U.S. Drought Monitor week. It was bracketed by an upper-level trough which moved out of the Northeast early in the week, and a Pacific upper-level trough that moved into the West as the week progressed. Other Pacific weather systems moved across the northern states between the troughs. This pattern resulted in above-normal precipitation across much of the West and parts of the Northeast.
Fronts associated with the Pacific systems triggered showers and thunderstorms across parts of the central and northern Plains to Mid and Upper Mississippi Valley. For the rest of the contiguous United States, a large dry air mass covered much of the southern Plains and East throughout the week. Rain occurred along a stationary front draped across Florida that was associated with the southern edge of the air mass, but for much of the South, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions it was a dry week.
Temperatures averaged warmer than normal across the Plains to Great Lakes beneath the ridge axis, and cooler than normal across much of the West, Southeast, and northern New England where troughs and Canadian air masses dominated. A tropical system brought heavy rain to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Drought or abnormal dryness expanded or intensified across northern parts of the West, from the central and northern Plains to the Mid- and Upper Mississippi Valley, and over parts of the Mid-Atlantic coast. Drought or abnormal dryness contracted where it rained, especially in parts of Florida, New Mexico, and the Northeast, in a swath from Iowa to Illinois, and across Puerto Rico. Nationally, expansion exceeded contraction, with the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area increasing this week.
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.
