According to today's Drought Monitor report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in the Midwest, in areas farther south, the past week was a mixed bag across the region.
Heavy rains improved conditions in significant parts of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, with localized improvement noted in parts of Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin as well.
But in some cases, there was a sharp gradient between areas with copious rainfall and neighboring areas that received little or none, creating a sharp gradient between some areas of severe to exceptional drought and others only mildly impacted by dryness.
Exceptional drought (D4) persisted in central Missouri while D3 covered sizeable sections of central and northeastern Missouri, southeastern Iowa, and both northern and southern parts of Wisconsin.
In addition, new areas of extreme drought (D3) were assessed in parts of east-central and southeastern Minnesota.
Agricultural impacts have been observed region-wide, particularly in Missouri.
Almost three-quarters of pastures and rangelands in the state are in poor or very poor condition, as are one-third of their corn crop and 28% of their soybean crop.
In addition, 22% of both the corn and soybean crops in Illinois are poor or very poor, and 15 to 20% of soybeans elsewhere are poor or very poor.