One month ago, the Climate Prediction Center issued a long-range weather forecast that contained an “above normal” chance of rainfall for much of drought stricken North Dakota.
The slim hope for some reversal on the horizon for increasingly dry conditions throughout much of the state received another blow Thursday when the weekly Drought Monitor pushed more than six percent of the state, including a portion of southern Ward County, into the “exceptional” drought category and now classifies some of the state as being in “long term” drought.
Many crops are considered too far gone due to a lack of moisture to recover this year.
Subsoil moisture is rated short to very short across 65 percent of North Dakota.
According to the Drought Monitor, 40 percent of the spring wheat crop in North Dakota is rated in poor to very poor conditions.
Pasture and rangeland is rated poor to very poor over 74 percent of the state.
We’ve had some precipitation in some parts of the state but, despite that, the drought conditions continue to worsen.” Rainfall deficits are dreadful over much of the drought area.
“The seasonal drought outlook calls for the drought to persist into the month of October,” said King.
“It looks like dry conditions in the west will persist.” Temperatures in the Minot region are expected to range from two to five degrees above normal for the next several days with low to mid 80s forecast for daytime highs.
The outlook for August through October calls for a continuation of above normal temperatures.