WEST MICHIGAN- Every week at this time, the U.S. National Drought Monitor updates what locations in the United States are under specific levels of drought ranging from none to exceptional (with 4 categories in between.)
Last week had a good section of West Michigan in moderate drought (level 2,) and just about everyone else in abnormally dry conditions (level 1.)
For the first time in a long time, we got widespread heavy rainfall. While some locations received over 8 inches, they’re obviously officially out of the drought. Areas along I-94 are still dealing with flooding, so I don’t need to tell you that you’re officially done with the drought as of now. But not everyone to the north saw the widespread heavy rainfall that would completely wipe out the drought. At last check of climate data, we’re still nearly an inch below normal for the year, with other locations around the airport even drier than that.

Drought has returned to Massachusetts after almost six months of sufficient hydration.
Spurred by summer-like temperatures in October and consecutive months of abnormal dryness, the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday reported that about a third of the state is experiencing a moderate drought.
The 31.78 percent of the state that falls into the Monitor’s lowest drought classification includes most of Hampden County, the southern half of Worcester County, most of Middlesex and Norfolk counties, and the northernmost parts of Bristol and Plymouth counties.
Another 58.35 percent of Massachusetts is abnormally dry, according to the Drought Monitor. Only Cape Cod and the islands, the southwestern sliver of Berkshire County and a slice of northern Middlesex County are properly hydrated, the Monitor reported.
The Monitor estimated that there are 2,877,758 people living in areas of Massachusetts affected by the drought.

Despite impressive economic growth and decades of capacity building, it faces another humanitarian crisis as one of the worst droughts in living memory scorches the Horn of Africa.
At the beginning of the year, 5.6 million Ethiopians were in need of food aid, primarily in the south and southeast of the country.
Why are the numbers in need increasing?
This year, the Ethiopian government has committed $147 million compared to last year’s unprecedented $700 million.
At the same time, the World Food Programme was able to increase its humanitarian support from 1.7 million people to 3.3 million in the Somali region.
“Since 2015, we have been working with international aid agencies, making assessments together and disclosing the numbers of beneficiaries,” Kassa, the agriculture minister, hit back.
Earlier this year, inter-community conflict broke out between ethnic Somali and Oromo in the Somali Region, resulting in dozens of deaths and more than 50,000 people displaced.
As a result, international agencies and the government face having to restock flocks or provide pastoralists with new livelihoods – further stretching budgets.

For losses due to drought, qualifying drought ratings are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor located at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.
Qualifying fires are those occurring on rangeland managed by a federal agency and the producer is prohibited by the federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to the fire.
Eligible livestock include alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer or sheep that have been or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland during the normal grazing period.
Applications are required for 2017 losses. To expedite applications, producers who experienced losses in 2017 are encouraged to collect records documenting their losses. Supporting documents may include information related to grazing leases or federal grazing permits, contract grower agreements and more.

“Ag organizations can also be a great resource for producers who want to learn more about the application process.
It certainly takes some communication with our local office to make sure we’re in compliance, but these programs have allocated resources and dollars for livestock producers, and we’re happy to have these available to us."
Many producers, like the Klasnas, will be looking to utilize the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) this year. Authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses on land due to qualifying drought conditions during the normal grazing period.
The majority of counties are at a three-month payment for about $50/cow-calf pair."
In addition to emergency haying CRP and recovering funds through LFP, the Klasnas have also utilized the Emergency Conservation Practices (ECP) for livestock water.
"We applied for ECP to help us drill an additional water well because our stock dams were drying up, and we didn’t have another water source available," she said.
This is a good program if producers are hauling water or if they need emergency funds to install better watering devices."
As the area prays for rain, Frerichs hopes the LFP payments will arrive to producers at a critical time.

MOGADISHU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — An estimated 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes this year by conflict and severe drought ravaging several parts of Somalia, a global charity said on Wednesday.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) regional director, Gabriella Waaijman, said the displaced Somalis are seeking food and water mainly due to severe drought.
"On average, a staggering 3,500 people per day have fled their homes this year searching for food and water to stay alive."
Drought has been gripping the Horn of Africa nation for the third year in a row.
"We are witnessing a mass exodus from rural villages not seen since the deadly 2011-2012 famine that killed 260,000 people," Waaijman said.
The charity said dry rural communities across Somalia have nearly turned into ghost towns, as crops failed, livestock died and families fled in droves after they ran out of all food reserves.
Waaijman said while drought was the main cause of displacement in Somalia this year, other causes included conflict, insecurity and flooding.
"Predictions for the next rainy season are unfavorable. This would push more people over the edge, so continued support is needed," warned Waaijman.

The Ojai Valley in Ventura County relies solely on local water sources, but in light of a continued dry spell and concerns over future supplies, it’s looking at several options to diversify.
Lake Casitas is only 37 percent full, but according to Russ Baggerly, a board director with the Casitas Municipal Water District (CMWD), the area’s largest supplier, it holds enough water for about five years.
The Ojai Valley is one of many communities across California looking to diversify their portfolios to cope with the expected impacts of climate change on water resources.
At present, the city is supplied by two sources: groundwater and Lake Casitas, with a 237,761 acre-foot capacity.
The Ojai Valley has several small water agencies and farmers who rely on groundwater while the CMWD controls the water in Lake Casitas.
The city’s water system gets about a quarter of its supply from Lake Casitas and the rest from groundwater.
The first entails using imports from the State Water Project (SWP) through a connection via Calleguas Municipal Water District’s system.
Merckling noted that conservation has the capacity to save at least as much water as the SWP connection and the Matilija Formation project.

"We are alarmed at the massive scale of this crisis. On average, a staggering 3,500 people per day have fled their homes this year searching for food and water to stay alive," said the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Regional Director, Gabriella Waaijman. "We are witnessing a mass exodus from rural villages not seen since the deadly 2011 – 2012 famine that killed 260,000 people."
Dry rural communities across Somalia have nearly turned into ghost towns, as crops failed, livestock died and families fled in droves after they ran out of all food reserves. Some 49,000 people fled their homes in September alone. Most migrated to overcrowded camps in urban areas, where Somalis share their stories of survival.

Gregg County on Monday joined Harrison, Cass and Marion counties in issuing a ban on outdoor burning as drought conditions deepened in Northeast Texas.
In Gregg County, Fire Marshall Mark Moore said Stoudt issued the order Monday afternoon based on his recommendation.
“The last thing we want is a fire season like we had in 2010 and 2011,” Moore said.
Gregg County’s action came a day after Harrison County Judge Hugh Taylor signed a ban order that went into effect at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Gregg’s ban pushed that to at least 60, but more are likely as drought conditions increase.
Also Monday, the Texas Water Development Board said moderate drought had “increased considerably” in Northeast Texas in the past week. Those include Upshur, Rusk and Panola counties.
The offense is a misdemeanor with a fine of as much as $500.
In Harrison County, Assistant Fire Marshall D.J.

Drought conditions continued to escalate in North Texas this past week as the Texas Water Development Board identified “moderate drought” conditions in the northeastern tip of Fannin County. This update came as a part of the TWDB’s weekly water report, which was released Monday afternoon.
“Drought conditions mostly improved in the lower Rio Grande Valley; however, moderate drought increased considerably in Northeast Texas, now affecting all of six counties and parts of another half dozen,” Robert Mace, TWDB deputy executive water science and conservation administrator, said in the report.
This week’s report saw some improvement in drought conditions for several counties in Texoma. Cooke County was described as drought free after weeks of being classified as “abnormally dry.” Similarly both Grayson and Collin counties also received relief from “abnormally dry” conditions, however dry conditions persisted for portions of both counties.
The ongoing dry spell comes following a dry September, where portions of the region received less than one-tenth of an inch of rain for the month.
For the majority of the week, Godwin said he expected conditions to stay dry and cool, with temperatures in the 70s through mid-week. On Wednesday and Thursday, highs are expected to rise into the mid 80s.
In addition to its normal content, Monday’s report included an update on long-range climate forecasts and conditions at reservoirs in the region.
“Despite this increase in drought, reservoirs in the Northeast Texas climate division are collective the fullest they’ve been since 1990,” Mace said.