South Region

On this week’s map, improvements were made across parts of Texas (central, southern, western) where scattered showers and thunderstorms late last week and into the weekend produced locally heavily rainfall accumulations ranging from 2-to-5 inches while the drought-stricken Panhandle region remained hot and dry leading to slight expansion of areas of Extreme Drought (D3) and Exceptional Drought (D4).

According to the May 7 USDA Texas Crop Progress and Condition report, winter wheat in the north-central Plains remained in poor condition. In Oklahoma, heavy rainfall (2 to 4 inches) was observed in parts of the state including southwestern, south-central, and east-central, leading to some targeted minor improvements along the sharp gradient between drought and drought-free areas.