AgWeb.com Editors

Following are highlights of the Weekly Drought Monitor update:

Click on map to view a larger version

The South: The remnants of the upper air disturbance that had brought flooding rains to the southern Plains edged eastward and contributed to heavy rains from Texas into Mississippi. Weekly rainfall totals to July 10 ranged from 2 to 5 inches from west-central Alabama into northern and central Mississippi and southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. Even the core of the D4 exceptional drought area in northern Alabama picked up 0.5 to 2.0 inches this week, although lesser amounts fell in northeast Alabama into southeast Tennessee. The rains had a major impact on the drought in Mississippi, D1 to D3 drought levels improving to D0 to D1, with parts of northwestern Mississippi seeing a removal of D0 dryness as streamflows continued high and soil moisture ratings improved markedly. USDA-reported topsoil moisture ratings improved from 85 percent short to very short statewide in Mississippi last week to 34 percent this week, close to the 10-year mean. To the east, the improvement was spotty in Alabama, where topsoil ratings went from 96 percent to 87 percent short, and 87 percent of the corn crop rated poor to very poor. D4 drought continued across much of northern Alabama and expanded into southeastern Tennessee. Despite picking up 2.65 inches of rain this month, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has measured just 12.20 inches of rain so far this year, 20.56 inches below normal. Heavy rains continued to shrink the drought area in southern Florida, but D2 drought persisted near and north of Lake Okeechobee, where water levels remained near historical lows due to minimal stream inflows. To the north, lack of rain led to expansion of D1 drought across northern North Carolina into southeastern Virginia. Continued below-normal rainfall and soaring temperatures early this week led to D1 development across the Tidewater area of Virginia, southern Maryland, and into the Delmarva Peninsula. The drought also expanded into northern Virginia. The corn crop in parts of eastern Virginia began showing severe stress as soil moisture conditions deteriorated tremendously in the past week.

The Midwest: Moderate to heavy showers dropped 0.5 to 2.0 inches of rain on much of Wisconsin, with lower amounts across the rest of the region. Below-normal totals led to D1 drought expansion from southwestern Michigan into northern Indiana and northern Ohio. Topsoil moisture ratings dropped considerably in Michigan, where topsoil ratings rose from 71 percent short to 83 percent short. D2 drought also developed near the shores of Lake Superior in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. D1 drought also expanded into southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.

Here's a link to view the latest map.

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/archive/2007/drmon0710.gif