US Drought Monitor and Summary, June 20, 2017

A mostly dry and warm week, along with increased summer evapotranspiration and a climatologic wet time of year, led to a general decline of moisture conditions in Oklahoma and Texas. Some areas in the South did see moderate to heavy rains , and this resulted in some D0 removal in northeastern and southeastern Oklahoma, and northeastern Texas. The remainder of the changes this week, however, included D0 and D1 expansion, namely in southern, west-central, and Panhandle of Texas, in central and eastern Panhandle of Oklahoma where Oklahoma City has measured only 1.19 inches of rain during May 1-June 20, normally the wettest stretch of weather here). According to the June 18 USDA/NASS report, statewide topsoil moisture rated short to very short rose 14 and 29 points from last week to 49 and 50 percent in Texas and Oklahoma, respectively, although crop and pasture conditions were still mostly fair to good. With the heat building, this area is primed for rapid deterioration unless rain falls soon. Read more at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.