The U.S. Drought Monitor map was updated on Sept. 27 and is on the Missouri Department of Natural Resources drought website at https://dnr.mo.gov/drought.htm.
The U.S. Drought Monitor indicates 63.35 percent of the state is experiencing dry or drought conditions.
Thirty-one counties are in D2 or greater status.
Three counties remain in D4 status.
Twelve counties remain in D3 status.
Forty counties no longer are in D2 or greater status.
Reports and photos are essential tools used in the assessment of drought conditions.
As drought conditions continue, citizens are strongly encouraged to report livestock stress, crop damage and low water in ponds and streams by submitting information using the Missouri Extension Drought Impact Reporter online at https://bit.ly/2OdCcHd.
Information will be used to assess conditions in each county and to inform drought maps provided by U.S. Drought Monitor for Missouri (https://bit.ly/2C2nm4j).
A map is available that provides drought condition reports and photos that were submitted by citizens.

Sydney is expecting a lashing, with the forecast set to intensify before Friday.
About 35-40 millimetres is expected by the end of the day, with heaving rain and a chance of flash flooding expected overnight.
While it’s not going to be drought-breaking, some of our drought-ravaged areas are receiving precious rain.
This morning, Broken Hill saw more than 30 millimetres, their heaviest downpour in two years.
Other towns like Menindee in the state’s west had more than 50 millimetres.
National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar tells Ben Fordham “any rain is good rain”.
“It’s a bit of a lottery, but it’s certainly welcome by the farmers in New South Wales.” Click PLAY below to hear the full interview It’s also been revealed regional New South Wales is paying up to $1000 more on their power bills every year than people living in the city.
“So on top of the drought, they’re also paying more to have the lights on,” says Ben.
Mr Mahar says it’s just not fair.
“Not only are you putting up with the drought conditions, but hundreds of dollars difference between rural and regional electricity users than those in urban [areas].”

MONTPELIER, V.T.
(WCAX) According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, approximately 73 percent of Vermont is experiencing dry or drought conditions.
The north central part of state makes up 8 percent of the severe drought area.
Officials are asking Vermonters to be mindful with their water use and take steps to conserve.
The State is also asking Vermonters to report low or dry wells using a new crowd-sourced drought map.
The map collects data on where water supply shortages are happening, to act as an early warning system.
It can even lead to improved planning and development of future sustainable water supplies for both private and public systems.
If you notice sediment or a change in the taste or color of the water, it may be contaminated.
There is also funding available for farmers affected by the drought.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced livestock producers impacted by the drought are encouraged to apply for assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by October 19th.

A car drives near the Yass River, one of the worst-hit region by drought in Australia, Aug. 11, 2018.
(Xinhua/Pan Xiangyue) CANBERRA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — Australia has experienced its driest September on record, extending the nation’s drought.
"Below average rainfall covered almost the entire country," Trewin told Fairfax Media on Monday night.
The poor September means that Australia is on-track to record its third-driest calendar year on record behind 1902 and 1965.
It came as much of the nation was desperate for rain to break the worst drought in five decades.
In New South Wales (NSW), September brought less than half the normal rainfall.
Trewin said that the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s food bowl, was on track to have its driest calendar year since 1902.
"The signal in the outlook (from October to December) that’s really strong is warmth," Trewin said.
Trewin said that 2018 was likely to be among top 10 years for average temperature.
Bushfire season has begun early across much of Australia as a result of a warm, dry winter.

After test results evaluating all water sources, from sinks to fountains, for 16 schools showed higher-than-acceptable levels of the chemicals last month, the Detroit public schools community district announced it was turning off the water at all its schools.
The latest results come on the heels of previous tests from 2016 and spring 2018 that revealed elevated copper and lead levels, bringing the total number of schools with water quality issues to 34 out of the 106 Detroit currently operates.
That doesn’t make sense for ensuring the safety of children.” The shutdown of water fountains doesn’t apply to charter schools, but Detroit’s mayor, Mike Duggan, intends to initiate “the same level” of water quality testing at those schools, Vitti said.
Flint water crisis: Michigan’s top health official to face trial over deaths Read more Water testing in schools is currently not required by federal law or Michigan state law.
The Detroit Federation of Teachers, the local arm of the American Federation of Teachers union, supported the superintendent’s decision.
Older drinking water fountains are “a known source of lead exposure”, said Stuart Batterman, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.
Detroit public schools have suffered from years of underfunding.
Vitti said: “The infrastructure of the public school system has been neglected, and this is an example of it.
“After 10 years of emergency management, there is a lot of work to be done, across, let’s say, 90% of our school buildings to get ceiling tiles, basic heating and cooling,” she said.
“This is not a new problem,” said Batterman, adding that it had been a known issue since the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule, which requires public water suppliers to monitor drinking water for lead.

Some parched New South Wales towns have received more rain in 24 hours than they have all year but it’s not enough to break the drought that’s gripped the state for months.
“These aren’t the sort of rainfall totals that will break the drought.” ‘This drought is different’: it’s drier and hotter – and getting worse Read more Far-western Broken Hill recorded 34mm in just 24 hours as a storm hit the town, eclipsing the 24.6mm it received between January and September this year.
Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) Some welcome #rain in western #NSW over the past 24 hours.
See https://t.co/3PzGXvE5AZ for more rainfall observations pic.twitter.com/FecDtZUnaz October 4, 2018 Local farmer Lachlan Gall, who runs sheep and cattle east of the regional centre, said the rainfall had been sporadic, with some stations receiving 100mm while his own got just 2mm.
“It seemed to turn into a bit of a rain band and that provided a bit of relief for some lucky people,” Gall said.
“Everyone’s still here, we’re still battling on.” The State Emergency Service was kept busy with volunteers responding to more than 40 jobs around the town, including roof damage and one car saved from flash flooding.
But it was the south-western village of Pooncarrie which recorded the biggest drenching, 53mm in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.
Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) Heavy #Rain on the way for #Sydney and the Central Coast.
Expect rain to increase in intensity later tonight.
“There are a lot of farmers who won’t have any crops at all now,” she said on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR – Economic losses caused by drought in China will rocket to tens of billions of dollars per year if global warming breaches the limits set by governments in a 2015 agreement to tackle climate change, scientists said.
Under the Paris climate pact, almost 200 nations agreed to limit global temperature rise to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, and pursue efforts to keep it to 1.5 C (2.7 F).
The planet has already heated up by about 1 C. An international team of researchers analyzed drought-related losses in 31 Chinese provinces and cities over the last 30 years, and looked at the potential social and economic impacts should global temperatures exceed the Paris limits.
In China, annual economic losses due to drought were an average $7 billion per year between 1984 and 2017, but global warming of 1.5 C could see that figure rise to $47 billion annually, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
A global temperature increase of 2 C could see China’s drought losses jump to about $84 billion each year, it added.
Areas that suffered most from drought over the last three decades were located in a southwest to northeast belt, including Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Yunnan, Hubei, Jilin, Anhui, Sichuan, Liaoning, Guizhou and Shandong.
“In this dry zone, there is a lot of poverty,” said Jiang Tong, a co-author of the study and researcher at the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration.
Stepping up efforts to reduce carbon emissions — including cutting down on fossil-fuel use — is important to ensure temperature rise stays below 1.5 C, Jiang said.
Achieving that could reduce China’s annual drought losses by several tens of billions of dollars, he added.
To ease the impacts of drought, authorities can introduce early warning systems, help farmers grow drought-resistant crops and fodder, and improve irrigation systems, he added.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The heaviest rain in years has fallen across parts of drought-parched inland Australia, bringing relief to struggling farmers but likely not enough water to break a big dry that has crippled the country’s most productive farmland.
"I just got home when the rain hit the house," said Greg Lawrence on the phone from 9 Mile Station, a sheep run just north of Broken Hill, a town 940 km west of Sydney.
"I got inside and yeah, I had a stubbie," he said, referring to a bottle of beer.
"Our house dam dried up last week and it’s chock-a-block full now … it just puts a spring in your step straight away and takes that pressure off."
The Bureau of Meteorology said falls of up to 25 mm were recorded at towns across New South Wales state over 24 hours to Thursday (Oct 4) morning, while thunderstorms dumped 34 mm on Broken Hill and 50 mm on Menindee, 100 km to its east.
The falls, though, will need to be followed up with more rain to break a drought has gripped a swathe of Australia’s southeast, turning pastures barren and driving graziers to buy in expensive grain to keep their herds alive.
Wheat production has been cut to its lowest in a decade, the wool clip and wine crush are set to drop, and crop protection company Nufarm Ltd last month reported an annual loss as farmers without crops pass on its products.
Conditions at Broken Hill were so dry that the storm drove ahead of it a huge cloud of orange dust, enveloping the city before the heaviest daily fall since 2016.
"It settled the dust for a little bit, but you can see the sky’s getting brown again with the wind," said Kerry Bourke, at Wonnaminta Station 220 km north of Broken Hill.
The rain is forecast to sweep east over Thursday and in the days to come, bringing expected falls of more than 25 mm over grazing and crop lands between Broken Hill and the coast.

Overnight in the Snowy Mountains region Cabramurra had almost 19mm fall, Albury on the state border got 23mm and the state’s west experienced a dumping, with just over 34mm falling in Broken Hill, 38mm in Ivanhoe and almost 39mm in Overnewton.
Enough dust was stirred up that the skies over the city turned red and forced residents to seek shelter inside their homes.
As dry conditions continue across NSW, Broken Hill meteorologist Phil Mew said the drought was worsening the problem with dust storms.
"When we get a dry system coming through and you get strong winds, you get a dust storm due to the wind picking up small dust particles."
Today’s deluge across the state could be the most rainfall struggling farmers in areas ravaged by this year’s drought have seen in up to 10 months.
Brisbane should remain dry today, with the BoM forecasting a mostly sunny day with light winds and temperatures of up to 27 degrees.
The end to the working week and the weekend are looking less dry however, with a high chance of rain and possible storms predicted for the Queensland capital leading into next week.
Canberra is today expected to receive light showers as the thunderstorms cross over NSW, but most of the deluge should miss the nation’s capital.
A 90 percent chance of light showers has also been predicted for Perth, with temperatures of about 23 degrees and winds of around 40km/h.
Similar conditions are also expected for Hobart where temperatures are expected to be around 15 degrees.

The government and Dansk Folkeparti have agreed on an aid package to farmers to alleviate the worst effects of this summer’s drought.
The package, worth 380 million kroner, will see a number of levies reduced as well as putting in place measures to handle future droughts.
High social cost “The extraordinarily drought we had this summer doesn’t just hit the individual farmer but the whole of society, because we lose exports and jobs,” said the finance minister, Kristian Jensen.
“A number of farmers are in a situation in which they lack liquidity to pay bills, so I’m glad to announce we have reached agreement on an aid package,” added the minister.
An economic focus group The package includes measures such as the farming sector being excused production levies in 2019, the setting up of an expert group to focus on the economics of farming, and improved possibilities to water crops in future drought situations.
The parties involved have agreed to discuss the situation again in 2019 when the total losses made by farming have been added up.
They will decide at that time whether there is a need for further initiatives.