According to the June 28, 2022, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 42.5% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 39.8%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) decreased from 16.0% last week to 14.7%.
A strong subtropical high pressure ridge was anchored across the southern half of the contiguous United States , with another broad upper-level ridge over Alaska and western Canada that extended later in the week into the western contiguous United States. Between these ridges, upper-level troughs of low pressure moved through the jet stream flow across the northern states. The troughs dragged Pacific cold fronts along with them. Some of the fronts penetrated into the southern states, but the powerful ridge inhibited precipitation so most of the CONUS was drier than normal for the week. A few exceptions included some areas in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, where precipitation was above normal, and much of the Southwest where the summer monsoon generated widespread abundant rainfall.
Weekly temperatures were warmer than normal, especially in the South, along the West Coast, and in the Great Lakes, but cooler than normal in the Rockies and parts of the Mid-Atlantic to New England coast. The ridge over Alaska gave much of the state a warmer- and drier-than-normal week. The monsoon rains contracted or reduced the intensity of drought or abnormal dryness across New Mexico and adjacent parts of Colorado and Arizona, and contraction also occurred over parts of the northern Rockies and northern and central Plains. But widespread expansion or intensification of drought and abnormal dryness occurred along and east of the Mississippi River, in parts of northern Colorado, and parts of Alaska and Puerto Rico.
The widespread dryness this week gave expansion an edge, so expansion exceeded contraction and the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area increased this week. But the Southwest monsoon helped reduce the national total area of the worst categories—extreme to exceptional drought.
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 181 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 58.4% 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.
