By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Despite some welcome rain that fell over parts of Kentucky during the past seven days, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report issued Thursday shows the state slipping further into drought conditions.
Three weeks ago, less than 3% of Kentucky’s land area was in the “Abnormally Dry” category or D0, the lowest stage on the scale that runs from D0 to D4, which signifies “Exceptional Drought.” The rest was considered to have no drought.
Since then, dry conditions have led to deepening drought conditions. Last week saw the first moderate drought area (D1), with about 25% of the state falling into that category. In the latest report, 31% of Kentucky is currently in moderate drought, while 59% is now abnormally dry, and the no drought area has now shrunk to 10%.
Adam Hartman with the National Weather Service offered this assessment of the past week in the Midwest, of which Kentucky is included.
“A storm system over the Midwest and Great Lakes over the weekend did little to halt widespread degradation of conditions across the Midwest,” he stated. “Although some locations did experience modest improvements, mainly in areas seeing in excess of 2 inches of rainfall, degradation to moderate drought (D1) and expansion of abnormal dryness (D0) is widespread.”
The result, according to Hartman, “There are many reports of browning and stressed vegetation, with several producers already resorting to supplemental feeding for their livestock due to reduced forage. Loss of yield remains a large concern for many.”
Looking ahead, the Weather Prediction Center says during the period June 15 – 20, generally seasonal temperatures are likely east of the Mississippi River. Rainfall is forecast across a large swath of the lower 48 states from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast, and northward along the East Coast.
During the following five days, the Climate Prediction Center favors below normal temperatures across the western third of the lower 48 states, and across parts of the Mid-Atlantic coast and Appalachians. Above normal temperatures are favored for the Great Plains, Mississippi River Valley, Great Lakes, interior Northeast, and southern Florida. Above normal precipitation is indicated across northwestern and north-central portions of the lower 48 states, and across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.