1. State Climate Office Drought Update
Adnan Akyuz, Ph.D.
NDSU, AES
State Climatologist
Updated 10/11/2018

2. Countywide Precipitation Anomalies and Rankings
September 2018 (51st Wettest)
July-September 2018 (57th Driest)
Blue/Brown colors indicate wetter/drier than long-term ( ) average.

3. Countywide Temperature Anomalies and Rankings
August 2018 (47th Coolest)
July-September 2018 (56th Coolest)
Blue/Brown colors indicate wetter/drier than long-term ( ) average.

4. ND 2018 Monthly/Seasonal Precipitation Anomalies (inches)
54th Driest Growing Season on record
39th Driest Spring on record
40th Wettest Summer on record

5. 30-Day Precipitation
Total Accumulation
% of Normal
(HPRCC Images)

6. Long Term Precipitation % of Normal
60 Days
90 Days
(NDAWN Images)

7. (% Change from previous week)
Cumulative % area
(% Change from previous week) D2
13%
(-3) D3 1%
(-0.5%) D1
39%
(-5)
None
33%
(+9%) DO
67%
(-9)

8. Drought Change
One-week Change
4-week Change

9. Drought Severity and Coverage Index (Statewide)
329
(Aug 8, 2006)
295
(Aug 8, 2017)
121
(-15)
Drought Severity and Coverage Index = ADO + 2AD1 + 3AD2 + 4AD3 + 5AD4 (Akyüz, 2007)
Where: A is a % of the state covered under the corresponding D-severity

10. Accumulated Drought Severity and Coverage Index (Statewide)
11,009
(+121)
9,530
10,645
19,319
9663
2116
1714
*Numbers indicate the area under the DSCI Index Curve
*Akyuz (2017)

11. Soil Moisture and Bare Soil Temperature
Soil Moisture Departure from Normal
Bare Soil Temperature (4”)
(20mm = 0.8”)
(NDAWN Map)

12. Short-Range Forecast*
Thu 1am, Oct 11 -Thu 1am, Oct 18
Thu 1am, Oct 11 -Thu 1am, Oct 25
*College of DuPage Next Generation Weather Lab (Posted with permission)

13. Medium Range Forecast*
Week 3-4 Precipitation
Week 3-4 Temperature
*Climate Prediction Center

14. *Climate Prediction Center
Long-Range Forecast*
CPC Nov-Jan Precipitation Outlook
CPC Nov-Jan Temperature Outlook
*Climate Prediction Center

15. County-wide Agricultural Impacts for the week
Climate Division
Drought Impact by counties
1: North-West
Ward: Mildly Dry
2: North-Central
McHenry: Severely Dry
3: North-East
4: West
Mercer: Mildly Dry. Better conditions with lower temperatures and showers the last week. Only problem is lots of soybeans and other beans still left to harvest, that will not dry down.
5: Central
Wells: Mildly Dry
Foster: Severely Dry: Foster county received some rain last week. Top few inches of soil are moist. Plants are still dry and brown in pastures and hay fields. Dug out ponds are still being excavated due to extremely dry conditions. Report from livestock producers located in Stutsman county located within 10 miles of Foster county along the northwest Cocteau region (Hawksnest hills) and the James River valley are extremely dry. Producer reports of precipitation events indicated very little rain for an 11 week period July to September. In the northern part of Stutsman county, pastures are extremely dry with no forage regrowth. Middle part of Stutsman county has adequate precipitation although extreme variability.
6: East-Central
Griggs: Normal Overall county is near normal however we still have regions within county that have not received as much from recent rains, mix of mildly wet and mildly dry.
7: South-West
Hettinger: The NDAWN site in Hettinger County has reported 1.62 inches of rainfall since Sept. 20 which is more than what has been received from July 1 through Sept. 19. The change of the seasons to cooler temps makes evaporation slow which slows down harvest and drying of the crop. The eastern side of the county still has major problems with being too dry but for the time being the rain is welcome.
8: South-Central
9: South-East
LaMoure: Moderately Wet.

16. Pictures of the Week
September 27 in Foster County ND shows a hay field that was cut and hayed the first week of July. Absolutely no regrowth. Should had had 1-2 cutting additional cuttings. Grass turned brown due to lack of rain. (K. Hoppe, NDSU)
September 27 in Foster county shows a slough that has been completely dried up with a dugout pound recently excavated for cattle water. The shiny areas in the picture are saline areas, not water. (K. Hoppe, NDSU)

17. Pictures of the Week
Foster County on September 27. Due to lack of rain, the water table has dropped and the dugout ponds have had to be excavated to reach water. Many dugout ponds in this region have had to be excavated this year to reach water (K. Hoppe, NDSU)
Foster County on Sept 27 show a field that was planted to millet in early July. The millet did not emerge due to lack of rain. The field was reseeded at the end of September to rye in dry ground hoping for rain. This was no-till seeded both times. (K. Hoppe, NDSU)

18. Pictures of the Week
Wells County (L. Maddock, NDSU)