National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5
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AXUS73 KFSD 061517
DGTFSD
IAC021-035-041-059-119-141-143-149-167-SDC083-127-131530-

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
1017 AM CDT Thu May 6 2021

...Severe Drought Persists Across Northwestern Iowa and a Small
Portion of Extreme Southeastern South Dakota...

.SYNOPSIS:

.Drought intensity and extent: According to the May 4 release of
the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought conditions across a small
portion of extreme southeastern South Dakota and much of northwestern
Iowa remain in the Severe (D2) category. Counties in Severe (D2)
drought include small parts of Lincoln and Union counties in
southeastern South Dakota, and Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux,
O`Brien, Clay, Plymouth, Cherokee, and Buena Vista counties in
northwest Iowa. Moderate Drought (D1) or Abnormally Dry (D0)
conditions are shown across most of the rest of the NWS Sioux
Falls forecast area. The percentage of the forecast area in
Severe (D2) drought has fallen from 17.90 percent on April 13 to
currently 12.56 percent.

.Precipitation: A drier pattern has returned to the region in the
last 2 to 4 weeks. Rainfall in the last 14 days has generally only
been 10 to 50 percent of normal, which is about 1 to 2 inches
below normal. For the last 30 days, rainfall has been only 25 to
75 percent of normal, which is about 0.50 to 2 inches below normal.

.Temperature: Temperatures for the last 30 days have been pretty
close to normal with departures of only plus or minus 2 degrees.
For the last 90 days, temperatures have averaged 1 or 2 degrees
below normal.

.Hydrologic conditions: Current streamflow is running in the 10th
to 25th percentile (much below normal to below normal) on parts
of the lower Big Sioux River, and on the Floyd and Little Sioux
rivers in northwest Iowa. The rest of the area is seeing
streamflows that are near normal.

.Soil Moisture and Ground Water Conditions: Soil moisture has
decreased over the last few weeks and is currently running 2 to 5
inches below normal across the the region, with the driest
conditions being in the D2 areas.


.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:

.Agricultural Impacts: With the drier conditions recently, field
work has been progressing nicely across the region, but if dry
conditions continue, there will likely be some issues with crop
emergence and stress after planting, which should really be
ramping up over the next few weeks. Grasslands and pastures are
showing some stress and reduced forage production.

.Hydrologic Impacts: None reported.

.Fire Hazards: With the generally near normal temperatures and
increasing greenness, there have been no significant fire weather
concerns in the last several days.

.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None reported.

.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK: The latest monthly drought outlook for
May and the seasonal drought outlook for April 15 through July
show that the drought is expected to persist into the summer. The
latest monthly climate outlooks from the Climate Prediction
Center for May shows equal chances of above normal, normal, or
below normal temperatures and precipitation. The latest 3 month
outlook for May through July shows increased chances for above
normal temperatures and mainly equal chances of above normal, normal,
or below normal precipitation.

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE: The product will be updated around May 20
unless conditions or outlooks 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

Local Weather Information: https://www.weather.gov/fsd

High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC):
   https://hprcc.unl.edu

Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC):
   https://mrcc.illinois.edu

South Dakota State Climate Office:
   https://climate.sdstate.edu

Minnesota State Climatology Office:
   http://climate.umn.edu

Iowa Climatology Bureau:
   https://iowaagriculture.gov/climatology-bureau

USDA Crop Information: https://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp

SDSU Extensions: 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
Mike Gillispie - Senior Service Hydrologist
26 Weather Lane
Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Phone: 605-330-4247
Email: michael.gillispie@noaa.gov

$$
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
