National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Aberdeen, SD
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6
000
AXUS73 KABR 241739
DGTABR
MNC011-155-SDC013-017-021-025-029-031-037-039-041-045-049-051-057-
059-065-069-075-085-089-091-107-109-115-117-119-129-291200-

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
1239 PM CDT Sat Apr 24 2021 /1139 AM MDT Sat Apr 24 2021/

...DROUGHT PERSISTS OVER NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA, WITH
IMPROVEMENTS NOTED OVER NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...

.SYNOPSIS:

.Drought intensity and extent: According to the April 22nd release of
the U.S. Drought Monitor, Extreme (D3) drought conditions continue to
exist across north central South Dakota, with the extent spreading
eastward slightly. Counties in D3 drought include Corson, Dewey,
Campbell, Walworth, far western McPherson, and extreme northwestern
Potter. The Severe (D2) drought area has remained fairly consistent
over the past couple weeks, and includes the counties of McPherson,
far northwestern Brown, Edmunds, western Faulk, Potter, Sully,
northern Hyde, far southern Dewey, and northern Stanley. Moderate
(D1) drought is noted across western Brown, western Spink, eastern
Edmunds, Hyde, Hand, Hughes, southern Stanley, Jones, Lyman, and
Buffalo counties. Abnormally dry (D0) conditions remain over a small
portion of northeast South Dakota and into west central Minnesota.

.Precipitation: Over the past three weeks, precipitation events have
occurred across the area, but the highest amounts have generally
been over northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. Much of
this area received 1 to 4 inches of precipitation, with some areas
even higher than 4 inches. This led to drought improvements, or even
removal of drought conditions over the Glacial Lakes region and into
west central Minnesota. Across north central South Dakota,
precipitation has largely stayed away, allowing D2 and D3 drought
conditions to continue. 90-day deficits are as much as 2 to 4 inches,
with 180-day deficits ranging from 2 to 4 inches as well.

.Temperature: The first week of April started off mild, with above
normal temperatures. The last two weeks have seen cooler
temperatures - below normal for many areas. In general, the average
temperature thus far in April is near to slightly below normal. The
recent cooler temperatures, combined with periodic precipitation
events have prevented any large scale worsening or expansion of
drought conditions.

.Hydrologic conditions: A snapshot of 7-day average streamflows on
April 23rd shows normal conditions across most of the region.
Although, the Maple River along the ND/SD state line is running below
normal, at the 21st percentile. The Moreau River near Whitehorse, SD
is also below normal, at the 14th percentile. At the start of the
month, the Big Sioux River near Florence and the Little Minnesota
River near Peever were below normal, but have now risen into normal
flows thanks to the recent rainfall.


.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:

.Agricultural Impacts: According to the April 19th release of South
Dakota crop conditions from the National Agricultural Statistics
Service, topsoil moisture was rated 24 percent "very short" and 34
percent "short". Compared to the end of March, this is a 2 percent
increase for "very short", but a 10 percent decrease for "short". The
recent heavier rain across northeast South Dakota likely drove this
number down for the "short" category. Subsoil moisture was rated 25
percent "very short" and 44 percent "short". Comparing subsoil to
late March, this is a 5 percent increase for "very short" and an 11
percent decrease for "short".

.Hydrologic Impacts: Stock ponds and dugouts across western and
central South Dakota continue to contain very little, if any water.
Where there is water, quality issues are still a concern.

.Fire Hazards: Over the past few weeks, the Grassland Fire Danger has
reached HIGH or VERY HIGH several times, especially over central
South Dakota. A handful of grass fires have also been reported.
Several counties across the forecast area have also enacted burn
bans within the past couple weeks.

.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None reported.

.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK: The latest one-month outlook for May, issued
on April 15th from the Climate Prediction Center, shows equal chances
for above normal, normal, and below normal temperatures and
precipitation. The three-month outlook shows increased probabilities
for above normal temperatures across the entire region, while also
showing increased probabilities for below normal precipitation across
western and into portions of central South Dakota. The latest
Seasonal Drought Outlook continues to show "drought persistence"
across western and central South Dakota.

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE:

This product will be updated around May 22nd, or sooner if drought
conditions change significantly.

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

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
travis.tarver@noaa.gov

$$
TMT
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
