Text Products for DGT Issued by FSD

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Versions: 1 2 3
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IAC021-035-041-141-SDC003-005-009-015-023-035-043-053-061-067-073-
077-079-087-097-099-111-125-135-301900-

Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
151 PM CDT Thu Sep 23 2021

...Drought conditions continue to improve, but Severe to Extreme
Drought remains across much of southeast South Dakota and a small
portion of northwest Iowa...

.SYNOPSIS:

.Drought intensity and extent: According to the September 21
issuance of the U.S. Drought Monitor, Extreme Drought (D3) is
being shown across portions of south central South Dakota. Areas
in Extreme Drought include parts of Brule, Aurora, Gregory, and
Charles Mix counties in South Dakota. Counties in Severe
Drought(D2) include Beadle, Kingsbury, Jerauld, Sanborn, Hanson,
Lake, Minnehaha, Douglas, Hutchinson, McCook, Turner, Bon Homme,
Yankton, and Clay, counties in South Dakota; and O`Brien, Clay,
Cherokee, and Buena Vista counties in northwest Iowa. Moderate
Drought (D1) or Abnormal Dryness (D0) is being shown in all other
counties in the NWS Sioux Falls forecast area, except for Lyon and
Osceola counties in Iowa, Lincoln County South Dakota, and Rock
and Nobles counties in southwest Minnesota where no drought or
dryness is currently being shown. The percentage of the forecast
area in Extreme Drought (D3) is down from 10.95 percent on
September 7 to 2.41 percent currently. The percentage of the
forecast area in Severe Drought (D2) or worse has decreased about
9 percent in the last 2 weeks, currently covering 39.91 percent
of the area. The percentage of the area in Moderate Drought (D1)
or worse has also decreased in the last 2 weeks, covering 65.24
percent currently. The portion of the region not depicted with any
drought or dryness has increased from 12.49 percent on September 7
to 18.09 percent currently.

.Precipitation: In the past 2 weeks, most of the region received
between 0.50 inch and 2.00 inches of rainfall. Areas from near
Yankton to Sioux Falls, up to Brookings, and across most of
southwest Minnesota saw 2 to 4 inches of rain.

.Temperature: Temperatures have been above normal for the 14
days, averaging between 2 and 4 degrees above normal.

.Hydrologic conditions: Current streamflows are running near
normal for most of the larger rivers and streams in the region
thanks to runoff from the heavier rains in the last 4 weeks.
Ground water levels in the Big Sioux Basin and Skunk Creek Basin
north of Sioux Falls have shown some slight improvement but still
remain much below normal.

.Soil Moisture Conditions: Current soil moisture anomalies are
still 1 to 4 inches below normal across the region.

.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:

.Agricultural Impacts: The USDA and the SBA have active
declarations for drought assistance for most if not all counties
in the area. Corn and soybean crops are approaching harvest time.
There are reports of decreased yield, and some areas are starting
to report that corn crops have been cut for silage. Water quality
issues have been reported with high concentrations of salt due to
low water levels and lack of inflow.

.Hydrologic Impacts: No new watering restrictions have been
reported in the area in the last month.

.Fire Hazards: Many counties in southeast South Dakota, southwest
Minnesota, and northwest Iowa have enacted burn bans. Prairie
grasses remain quite dry in many areas which will increase the
threat of wildfire spread, and some counties are concerned about
grass fires igniting as harvesting of crops begins over the next
several weeks.

.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None reported.

.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK: The latest seasonal drought outlook from
the Climate Prediction Center shows that the drought is expected
to improve but persist through the end of December in those areas
still in drought currently. The latest 6-10 day, 8- 14 day, 3-4
week, and 1 month outlooks all show increased chances for above
normal temperatures and generally near normal precipitation. The 3
month outlook for October through December generally calls for
equal chances of above normal, normal, or below normal
temperatures and precipitation.

.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE: The product will be updated around October
14, 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
