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U.S. Drought: Weekly Report for October 29, 2024

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According to the October 29, 2024 U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), moderate to exceptional drought covers 45.3% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 41.9%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) increased from 4.2% last week to 5.5%.

Like the last few weeks, a strong ridge of high pressure dominated the upper-level circulation over the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) during this U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) week (October 23–29). The ridge was responsible for drier- and warmer-than-normal weather across much of the CONUS. A couple troughs of low pressure skimmed across the top of the ridge; fronts that were associated with them generated a few areas of precipitation in the northern and eastern states. A strong trough was building into the West as the week ended, spreading precipitation across areas from the Pacific Northwest to the Rocky Mountains. Precipitation amounts were limited, so only a few areas in the West and Midwest were wetter than normal this week. With low precipitation and enhanced evapotranspiration due to unusually warm temperatures for this time of year, flash drought conditions resulted in the rapid expansion of abnormal dryness and drought, especially east of the Rockies. 

Ridging over the Caribbean gave Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands a warmer- and mostly drier-than-normal week. Above-normal rain improved drought conditions in Hawaii, while Alaska was mostly cooler and drier than normal. 

Drought and abnormal dryness expanded or increased in intensity across much of the CONUS east of the Rockies, with contraction occurring in Hawaii and parts of the Northwest. Nationally, expansion was much more than contraction, so the nationwide moderate to exceptional drought area percentage significantly increased again this week. 

Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 242 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 77.8% of the population. This is the highest percentage in the entire 25-year-long USDM record.

U.S. Drought Monitor map for October 29, 2024.

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.