BLAKE NICHOLSON
Bismarck Tribune
Drought conditions in North Dakota haven t improved over the past week, but they haven t worsened, either.
This week s U.S. Drought Monitor map, published Thursday, shows conditions unchanged from the previous week a little under 18% of North Dakota in exceptional drought, the worst of four categories. Extreme drought covers 59% of the state, and all of the state except for the extreme southeastern corner remains in some form of drought.
Wetter, cooler weather in the region stopped the spread of drought, according to National Drought Mitigation Center Climatologist Brian Fuchs. Temperatures were 4-6 degrees below normal, with even greater departures in the Dakotas, where some areas were 8-10 degrees below normal for the week, he wrote. Much of eastern Colorado, southern Nebraska, Kansas and northwest South Dakota into southwest North Dakota received well over 150% of normal precipitation for the week.
Recent rain has slowed the expansion of drought in North Dakota and diminished the pace of wildfires, but conditions have improved little over the week despite the wet weather.
This week s U.S. Drought Monitor map, published Thursday, shows a little under 18% of North Dakota in exceptional drought, the worst of four categories. That s up about 1% from the previous week.
But a large chunk of southwestern North Dakota has been downgraded from extreme drought to severe. Extreme drought now covers 59% of the state, down from 68% last week. However, all of the state except for the extreme southeastern corner remains in some form of drought.
Exceptional drought is now present in North Dakota, and the number of wildfires in the state has topped the 1,000 mark.
This week s U.S. Drought Monitor map shows 17% of North Dakota in exceptional drought, the worst of four categories. The affected area is in the central and north central parts of the state. The rest of the western two-thirds of North Dakota is in extreme drought, with most of the Red River Valley and part of the southeast in severe or moderate drought.
It s the first time this year that exceptional drought has been in North Dakota. It s the lone spot in the country outside of the Desert Southwest where it s present.
The Dickinson Rural Fire Department and surrounding fire agencies continue work to contain the flames of two large grass fires along with a smaller fire south of Dickinson on Highway 22 Tuesday afternoon.
May 11, 2021
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Extreme drought shows no signs of releasing its grip on North Dakota, despite recent cooler weather and widespread rainfall.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Thursday, shows 85% percent of North Dakota in extreme drought, the second-worst of four categories. That’s up slightly from 83% last week. Extreme drought blankets the western and central portions of the state, with most of the Red River Valley in moderate or severe drought.
“Areas of extreme drought expanded in northern South Dakota and southern North Dakota,” wrote Western Regional Climate Center Associate Research Scientist David Simeral and Climate Prediction Center Meteorologist Richard Tinker.