Heavy Rains Wash Drought Away From Missouri's Mid-Section

Drought conditions in Missouri as of Apr. 23rd, 2024. (The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Just as Governor Mike Parson’s drought emergency declaration was extended to September, rainfall exceeding seven inches in parts of Missouri brought about significant upgrades in this week’s drought monitor. The weekly update from the National Drought Mitigation Center moved an area stretching from western Howard County through most of Cooper, Johnson, Pettis, Saline, northern Henry, southern Cass, and southwestern Bates counties jump straight from moderate drought to normal or excess moisture. Parts of 28 counties that were in moderate drought last week were upgraded to abnormal dryness, while areas of severe drought in Carter, Monroe, Oregon, Reynolds and Texas counties were upgraded to moderate. Abnormal dryness also came to an end in Franklin and northern Jefferson counties outside St Louis, as well as a wide swath of northern Missouri, and central Jasper County in the southwest.

Just 19.5 percent of Missouri is now in moderate drought, a 20-point improvement from last week. Another 24.4 percent of the state is abnormally dry, marking the first time in just over a year that a majority of Missouri was not in drought or abnormal dryness.