Text Products for DGT Issued by ABR

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Aberdeen, SD
Versions: 1 2
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AXUS73 KABR 171809
DGTABR
MNC011-155-SDC013-017-021-025-029-031-037-039-041-045-049-051-057-
059-065-069-075-085-089-091-107-109-115-117-119-129-241815-

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
109 PM CDT Fri Sep 17 2021 /1209 PM MDT Fri Sep 17 2021/

...DROUGHT IMPROVEMENTS NOTED FOR PORTIONS OF THE REGION...

.SYNOPSIS:

.Drought Intensity and Extent: According to the September 16th
release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of central South Dakota has
seen an improvement from Extreme (D3) to Severe (D2) drought
conditions. Improvements have also been noted across northeast South
Dakota into west central Minnesota over the past few weeks. The
recent wet weather pattern during the latter parts of August and into
early September have brought much needed rainfall to portions of the
region - several inches in some cases. Extreme (D3) drought is now
limited to McPherson, northwestern Edmunds, and eastern parts of
Campbell and Walworth counties. A very small section of northeast
Corson is also in D3 drought conditions. Severe (D2) drought covers
Stanley, Dewey, Corson, northern Jones, Campbell, western Walworth,
Potter, Sully, much of Hughes, Edmunds, Faulk, northern Hyde, Hand,
eastern Buffalo, and portions of Lyman counties. Small sections of
western Brown and Spink, as well as southern Deuel counties are also
in D2 drought. Moderate (D1) drought covers the counties of Lyman,
southern Jones, western Buffalo, southern Hyde, southern Hughes,
Brown, and Spink. D1 drought also covers portions of Marshall,
Hamlin, Deuel, Grant, and Big Stone counties. Much of northeastern
South Dakota in the Glacial Lakes region and into portions of Big
Stone and Traverse counties are no longer considered to be in any
drought.

The percentage of the Aberdeen County Warning Area in D2-D4 drought
is at 57.15 percent. This is down from 78.54 percent reported on the
August 26th drought monitor. The D3 area is now only 5.12 percent,
down from 34.93 percent on August 26th.

.Precipitation: Rainfall amounts have been well above normal over the
past 30 days from northeast South Dakota down through south central
South Dakota. Most areas have been 3 to 5 inches above normal during
this 30-day period, with localized areas across northeast South
Dakota even slightly higher. 30-day totals range from 4 to 6 inches
from parts of south central South Dakota northward into the James
River valley. Across the Glacial Lakes region, totals have been
mostly in the 6 to 8 inch range.

.Temperature: Over the past 30 days, average temperatures have been
about 1 to 3 degrees above normal across much of the region.

.Hydrologic conditions: 7-day average streamflows on September 16th
showed near to above average conditions on most of the area rivers
and streams.

.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:

.Agricultural Impacts: On September 14th, the Governor of South
Dakota signed an executive order that extends the timeframe hay
haulers may travel on state highways. Under state law, overwide
vehicles - such as hay haulers - cannot travel on state highways more
than a half-hour before sunrise and a half-hour after sunset. The
executive order extends that travel timeframe to two hours before
sunrise and two hours after sunset.

The September 13th release of the South Dakota crop conditions from
the National Agricultural Statistics Service showed topsoil moisture
rated 28 percent very short and 43 percent short. Three weeks ago,
topsoil moisture was rated 48 percent very short, so this is a modest
improvement. Subsoil moisture was rated 39 percent very short and 39
percent short. This is a 9 percent improvement from three weeks ago.
Corn condition rated 14 percent very poor and 30 percent poor.
Soybean condition rated 10 percent very poor and 31 percent poor.
Pasture and range condition rated 39 percent very poor and 41 percent
poor.

.Hydrologic Impacts: Exposed mud flats across central South Dakota
due to low water have allowed midge fly breeding. These midge flies
can carry Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). A fair amount of EHD
has been discovered in whitetail deer across central South Dakota,
resulting in deer kill.

.Fire Hazards: The recent wet pattern has allowed for grasses to
green up quite a bit across northeastern South Dakota, thus lowering
the fire danger. Over portions of central South Dakota where rainfall
has been less, fire danger still becomes high or very high during
periods of low humidity and high winds.

.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None known or reported.

.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK: The latest 8 to 14-day outlook from the
Climate Prediction Center, released on September 16th, favor chances
for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. The
one-month outlook for October favors above normal temperatures, but
equal chances for above or below normal precipitation.

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE: This product will be updated by October 17th,
or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.

.RELATED WEB SITES: Additional information on current drought
conditions may be found at the following web addresses:

US Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
US Drought Information System: https://www.drought.gov
Climate Prediction Center: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov
High Plains Regional Climate Center...https://www.hprcc.unl.edu
Local Weather Information...https://www.weather.gov/abr
USDA Crop Information...https://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
South Dakota State Climate Office...https://climate.sdstate.edu
SDSU Extension...https://extension.sdstate.edu
Drought Impact Reporter...https://droughtreporter.unl.edu/map

Additional water and river information:

NWS: https://water.weather.gov
OWP: https://water.noaa.gov
US Geological Survey (USGS): https://water.usgs.gov
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): https://www.usace.army.mil

.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Drought Monitor is a multi-agency effort
involving the National Weather Service and National Centers for
Environmental Information, the USDA, state and regional center
climatologists and the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Information for this statement has been gathered from NWS and FAA
observation sites, state cooperative extension services, the USDA,
USACE and USGS.

.CONTACT INFORMATION: If you have questions or comments about this
Drought Information Statement, please contact:

National Weather Service
Travis Tarver - Drought Focal Point
824 391st Ave S
Aberdeen SD 57401
Phone: 605-225-0519
Email: travis.tarver@noaa.gov

$$
TMT
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
