Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO

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Drought Information Statement
National Weather Service Saint Louis MO
750 PM CST Thu Jan 25 2024

...Wet End of January Easing Drought Across the Area...

Drought-related information for eastern Missouri and western
Illinois including a PDF version of the Graphical Drought
Statement is available at:
https://www.weather.gov/lsx/DroughtInformationStatement

SYNOPSIS...

Severe (D2) drought remains in place over portions of southeastern
Knox, southwestern Lewis, western Shelby, eastern Marion,
northeastern Monroe, and northwestern Ralls counties of northeast
Missouri, and over southeastern Moniteau, southern Cole, southern
Gasconade, southwestern Franklin, western Washington, western Iron,
northwestern Reynolds, and Crawford counties of south central
Missouri. Moderate (D1) drought or abnormal dryness (D0) remains
over most of northeast, central, and southeast Missouri into parts
of west central and southwest Illinois.  However, an area extending
from Hillsboro, Illinois to St. Louis to Troy, Missouri to
Jacksonville, Illinois has now improved to no drought
classification.

While the month of December was mostly dry, particularly south of
the Missouri River, January has provided above normal rainfall
throughout the region.  Precipitation has generally been 150% to
more than 200% of normal so far, with more on the way before the
month concludes.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

Most impacts are hydrological (low pond levels, stock water
supplies, and streamflows) and agricultural (low/poor hay supply,
low topsoil moisture).

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

Dry weather has been prevalent since mid/late August, though a
wetter pattern has taken shape in late December and continues
through the month of January.

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) for the 6-10
day period favors above normal temperatures and near to below normal
precipitation. In the week 2 timeframe, the outlook indicates a
continued likelihood of above normal temperatures but with a better
chance for above normal rainfall.

The monthly outlook for February indicates temperatures will most
likely be above normal north of I-70, with equal chances of
temperatures being below normal, near normal, or above normal to the
south. The favored category for February precipitation is below
normal. The seasonal outlook for the period February through April
indicates equal chances of temperatures and precipitation being
below normal, near normal, or above normal.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

Recent precipitation has brought a remarkable increase in streamflow
and flow percentiles across most of the region.  The only area not
to receive as much benefit is parts of northeastern Missouri, where
significant rain has not fallen since the 9th, though today`s
rainfall should certainly help.  The lowest 7-day streamflow
averages are on the North Fork Salt River at the 3rd percentile and
the upper South Fabius River at the 6th percentile. Areas southeast
of a Jefferson City, Missouri to Jacksonville, Illinois line have
improved nicely. With two more rain events expected by the weekend,
look for additional improvement.

River ice combined with low flows have created utility water intake
and navigation concerns along the Missouri, Illinois, and
Mississippi rivers. However, warmer temperatures combined with
recent and expected rainfall are beginning to ease concerns for now.
While 7-day average flows on the bigger rivers remain below normal,
these percentiles show signs of improvement, ranging from 11 to 30
along the Missouri River and between 32 and 34 along the Mississippi
River.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

The next issuance of this product will be on or around Saturday,
February 10, 2024.

.RELATED WEB SITES:

Additional information on current drought conditions may be found
at the following web addresses:
US Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
US Drought Information System: https://www.drought.gov
NOAA Drought Page: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Drought

Local Weather, Climate, and Water Information:
http://www.weather.gov/saintlouis
Midwest Climate Center:
http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/cliwatch/drought/drought.jsp
Missouri State Climatologist:
http://climate.missouri.edu
Missouri DNR Drought Info:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/droughtupdate.htm
Illinois State Climatologist:
http://www.isws.illinois.edu/atmos/statecli
Illinois Water Survey:
http://www.isws.illinois.edu/hilites/drought

Additional water and river information:
NWS: https://water.weather.gov
OWP: https://water.noaa.gov
US Geological Survey (USGS): https://water.usgs.gov
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): https://www.usace.army.mil

.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a weekly collaborative effort between
a number of state and federal agencies including the National
Weather Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the
National Drought Mitigation Center.

.CONTACT INFORMATION:

If you have questions or comments about this Drought Information
Statement, please contact:

Jayson Gosselin or
Mark Britt
Climate Services Focal Points
--or--
Mark Fuchs
Senior Service Hydrologist

National Weather Service
12 Missouri Research Park Drive
Saint Charles, MO  63304
Phone...636-441-8467
w-lsx.webmaster@noaa.gov

$$

Gosselin/Fuchs


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