US Drought Monitor and Summary for May 14, 2021

Across portions of the region, the active pattern continued with significant rainfall accumulations observed in portions of East Texas, where 7-day totals ranged from two to eight inches. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), seven-day average streamflows were above normal across much of the region — particularly in Southeast Texas and South Louisiana, where streamflow percentiles were greater than the 90th percentile. On the map, isolated rainfall activity this week led to some minor improvements in South and North-central Texas, whereas portions of the Texas Panhandle and the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas saw some deterioration in drought-related conditions and an expansion of areas of drought on the map. In West-central and North Oklahoma, short-term precipitation deficits and areas of below-normal soil moisture led to a slight expansion of areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) on the map. For March and April, precipitation across the South Climate Region was slightly above normal (40th wettest). Read more at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.