According to the August 27, 2024 U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), moderate to exceptional drought covers 23.4% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 20.1%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) increased from 1.5% last week to 2.0%.
A strong ridge of high pressure maintained its grip across the central part of the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) during this USDM week (August 21–27). It was responsible for warmer-than-normal temperatures that stretched across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest. Upper-level troughs of low pressure dominated the West and East coasts, keeping weekly temperatures cooler than normal on both ends of the country. Pacific weather systems spread above-normal precipitation over northern California to the Pacific Northwest as they moved through the western trough, then triggered bands of thunderstorms over the Rockies and central to northern Plains as they bumped up against the ridge. In between the West Coast and Rockies rain areas, the West was dry from southern California to northern Montana.
Rain developed along a stationary front that was draped across Florida. But for most of the CONUS east of the Rockies, the week was drier than normal with little to no rain falling from western Texas to the Mid-Atlantic Coast. The ridge migrated eastward as the week ended, so warmer-than-normal temperatures spread into the Midwest and Southeast. Abnormal dryness and drought expanded and intensified across the southern Plains and Tennessee and Lower Mississippi Valleys in a rapidly developing flash drought situation, as well as in parts of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, northern Plains, and Far West.
Exceptional drought (D4) developed in parts of Ohio and West Virginia for the first time in the 25-year USDM history.
Hurricane Hone’s rains brought improvement to most of the main Hawaiian Islands.
Nationally, expansion was much more than contraction, so the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area percentage increased this week. This has been a summer of heat and dryness for much of the country. In the last three months (June 4 to August 27), the U.S. drought area more than doubled, going from 10.2% to 23.4%. For the CONUS, the area experiencing abnormal dryness and drought went from a fourth of the country (26.0%) to two-thirds (64.6%).
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 129 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 41.5% 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 X.
