Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Aberdeen, SD

000
AXUS73 KABR 141813
DGTABR
MNC011-155-SDC013-017-021-025-029-031-037-039-041-045-049-051-057-
059-065-069-075-085-089-091-107-109-115-117-119-129-131715-

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
1207 PM CDT THU JUN 13 2013 /1107 AM MDT THU JUN 13 2013/

...SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS...

SYNOPSIS...

A WET WEATHER PATTERN HAS PERSISTED THROUGH THE SPRING
MONTHS...LASTING RIGHT INTO EARLY JUNE. SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS...AS WELL AS LARGER AND SLOW MOVING RAIN
PRODUCING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS HAVE AFFECTED THE AREA THROUGH MUCH
OF THE SPRING. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH OF MAY WERE NEAR
TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE. THUS FAR IN JUNE...TEMPERATURES HAVE
BEEN BELOW NORMAL FOR THE ENTIRE AREA...DUE TO FREQUENT EPISODES
OF PRECIPITATION AND CLOUDY SKIES...AS WELL AS INTRUSIONS OF COOL
AIR BEHIND LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS. DUE TO THE COOLER TEMPERATURES
AND CONTINUED PRECIPITATION...SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN DROUGHT
CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR CLASSIFIES A SMALL PORTION OF CENTRAL
SOUTH DAKOTA IN SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT...WHICH INCLUDES JONES COUNTY
AND SOUTHWEST STANLEY COUNTY. THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT IN CONDITIONS
FROM THREE WEEKS AGO WHEN MOST OF CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST SOUTH
DAKOTA WAS COVERED IN D2 DROUGHT. MODERATE /D1/ DROUGHT BORDERS
THE D2 DROUGHT AND COVERS STANLEY AND SOUTHERN LYMAN COUNTIES.
ABNORMALLY DRY /D0/ CONDITIONS ARE BEING FELT ACROSS DEWEY AND
SOUTHERN CORSON COUNTIES. D0 IS ALSO OBSERVED OVER MCPHERSON AND
EDMUNDS COUNTIES...AS WELL AS ROBERTS...GRANT...TRAVERSE...AND BIG
STONE COUNTIES. FOR THE REST OF THE FORECAST AREA...NO DROUGHT
CONDITIONS ARE BEING OBSERVED. THIS INCLUDES THE AREA FROM AROUND
MOBRIDGE...SOUTHEAST INTO THE JAMES VALLEY...AND FURTHER EAST INTO
MOST OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. THESE ARE ALL SIGNIFICANT
IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD IF ONE COMPARES THIS TO CONDITIONS
EXPERIENCED IN APRIL.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS.
NO RECENT ACTIONS KNOWN AT THIS TIME.

SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS.
CALCULATED SOIL MOISTURE ANOMALIES SHOW DEFICITS GENERALLY FROM
0.75 INCHES TO 1.50 INCHES ACROSS A SMALL PORTION OF CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA. THERE IS ALSO A SMALL AREA WITH SIMILAR DEFICITS ACROSS
THE D0 AREA OVER MCPHERSON AND EDMUNDS COUNTIES. ELSEWHERE ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA...CONDITIONS ARE ACTUALLY NEAR NORMAL. ACCORDING
TO THE LATEST USDA CROPS REPORT FOR SOUTH DAKOTA ISSUED JUNE
10TH...TOPSOIL MOISTURE WAS RATED 0 PERCENT VERY SHORT...5 PERCENT
SHORT...79 PERCENT ADEQUATE...AND 16 PERCENT SURPLUS. SUBSOIL
MOISTURE WAS RATED 2 PERCENT VERY SHORT...20 PERCENT SHORT...73
PERCENT ADEQUATE...AND 5 PERCENT SURPLUS. THESE ARE ALL NOTED
IMPROVEMENTS COMPARED TO ONE MONTH AGO...ESPECIALLY WITH SUBSOIL
MOISTURE. THE CONTINUED WET PATTERN HAS BEGUN TO REACH SUBSOIL
DEPTHS.

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS.
INFORMATION FROM THE LATEST USDA CROPS REPORT SHOWS CORN WAS 91
PERCENT EMERGED...BEHIND LAST YEARS 99 PERCENT BUT AHEAD OF THE 85
PERCENT AVERAGE. CORN CONDITION WAS RATED 1 PERCENT VERY POOR...4
PERCENT POOR...21 PERCENT FAIR...63 PERCENT GOOD...AND 11 PERCENT
EXCELLENT. SPRING WHEAT JOINTED WAS AT 29 PERCENT...BEHIND LAST
YEARS 91 PERCENT AND ALSO BEHIND THE 39 PERCENT AVERAGE. SPRING
WHEAT HEADED WAS AT 13 PERCENT...ALSO BEHIND LAST YEARS 50 PERCENT
BUT EQUAL TO THE AVERAGE. CONDITIONS RATED AT 2 PERCENT VERY
POOR...4 PERCENT POOR...35 PERCENT FAIR...48 PERCENT GOOD...AND 11
PERCENT EXCELLENT. OATS CONDITION RATES 0 PERCENT VERY POOR...0
PERCENT POOR...33 PERCENT FAIR...57 PERCENT GOOD...AND 10 PERCENT
EXCELLENT. BARLEY CONDITION IS RATED 0 PERCENT VERY POOR...1
PERCENT POOR...31 PERCENT FAIR...66 PERCENT GOOD...AND 2 PERCENT
EXCELLENT.

RIVER AND STREAM FLOW CONDITIONS.
SEVEN-DAY AVERAGE STREAM FLOW COMPARED TO HISTORICAL STREAM FLOW
ARE RUNNING ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE JAMES AND BIG SIOUX RIVER BASINS.
THE MOREAU RIVER NEAR WHITEHORSE WAS ALSO ABOVE NORMAL. THE GRAND
RIVER AT LITTLE EAGLE AND THE BAD RIVER NEAR FORT PIERRE ARE
RUNNING NEAR NORMAL.

FIRE DANGER IMPACTS.
FIRE DANGER HAS BEEN LOW OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS WITH
BASICALLY ALL AREAS IN THE FORECAST AREA HAVING GREENED UP VERY
WELL.

CURRENT WATER RESTRICTIONS.
NONE KNOWN AT THIS TIME.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...
MAY PROVED TO BE WET ACROSS THE REGION WITH PRECIPITATION TOTALS
ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. MANY SITES WERE 1 TO 2 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AS WELL AS AREAS OF CENTRAL
SOUTH DAKOTA SAW TOTALS THAT WERE GREATER THAN 2 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. THUS FAR IN JUNE...THE WET PATTERN HAS CONTINUED.
ALTHOUGH...EPISODES OF HIT AND MISS THUNDERSTORM COMPLEXES HAVE
GIVEN SOME AREAS MORE PRECIPITATION THAN OTHERS. SOME AREAS ARE
RUNNING A BIT ABOVE NORMAL FOR PRECIPITATION WHILE OTHERS ARE JUST
BELOW NORMAL. OVERALL THOUGH...THE WEATHER PATTERN HAS REMAINED
ACTIVE AND WET.

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
THE ONE-MONTH OUTLOOK FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER SHOWS
EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
PRECIPITATION FOR THE AREA. THE THREE-MONTH OUTLOOK SHOWS EQUAL
CHANCES FOR ABOVE OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...WITH AN AREA FROM
WESTERN TO SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA HAVING AN INCREASED CHANCE
FOR SEEING ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. AS FOR PRECIPITATION...THE
CURRENT THREE-MONTH OUTLOOK SHOWS EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE OR BELOW
NORMAL.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
THE JAMES RIVER AT COLUMBIA IS NOW IN MINOR FLOOD STAGE DUE TO
INCREASED PRECIPITATION OVER THE PAST MONTH...BUT MORE SO DUE TO
RELEASES AT PIPESTEM DAM IN JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA. THE RIVER AT
COLUMBIA IS EXPECTED TO STAY IN FLOOD STAGE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
WEEKS. BY EARLY JULY...THE JAMES RIVER AT STRATFORD IS EXPECTED TO
REACH MINOR FLOOD STAGE. THE OTHER MAJOR RIVERS ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA REMAIN BELOW FLOOD STAGE WITH THE LATEST
PROBABILISTIC HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK SHOWING GENERALLY SMALL CHANCES
FOR REACHING FLOOD STAGE OVER THE NEXT 90 DAYS.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED AROUND JULY 13TH OR SOONER IF
NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CONDITIONS.

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND
AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/...

U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV
HIGH PLAINS REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER...HTTP://WWW.HPRCC.UNL.EDU
NWS RIVER INFORMATION...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS
USGS...HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV
LOCAL WEATHER INFORMATION...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/ABERDEEN
USDA CROP INFORMATION...HTTP://WWW.NASS.USDA.GOV/INDEX.ASP
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE...HTTP://CLIMATE.SDSTATE.EDU
SDSU EXTENSION...HTTP://IGROW.ORG/AGRONOMY/DROUGHT
SOUTH DAKOTA DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER...HTTPS://IGROW.CROWDMAP.COM
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER /CPC/...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...
THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE
NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS
STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...
STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...USACE AND USGS.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT
INFORMATION STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT...

TRAVIS TARVER - DROUGHT FOCAL POINT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
824 BROWN COUNTY 14 SOUTH
ABERDEEN SD 57401
PHONE...605-225-0519
TRAVIS.TARVER@NOAA.GOV

$$
TMT