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Tracking the latest on drought conditions

Rainfall this past week and a half should have helped with drought conditions, but by how much? The answer to this is not very much for much of Mid-Missouri. The latest drought monitor shows just how bad conditions are becoming.

The newest drought monitor has seen a decrease in both the severe and extreme categories. Only a small portion exist currently in Columbia and California Missouri currently. When extreme drought conditions occur, areas can see an increase in wildfire conditions along with farmers experiencing high stress on freshly planted crops.

Just last week, both the extreme and severe covered areas saw a broader coverage across Mid-Missouri. Audrain county has been completely removed from severe coverage and moved to moderate drought conditions.

The month have May has seen increased rainfall totals dramatically from April as the current total is over 3" more just halfway through the month. The current total puts May ahead of schedule for the first time in several months of rainfall trends.

The outlook for this weekend and next week doesn't install much hope for improving drought conditions. It offers the possibility of worsening conditions once again as a high pressure system sets over much of the Midwest meaning more sunny and dry days ahead.

Article Topic Follows: Weather

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Chance Gotsch

Chance Gotsch grew up just south of St. Louis and moved to Columbia to attend the University of Missouri to pursue a degree in Atmospheric Sciences.

His interest in weather begin as a child when he used to be afraid of storms.

Chance joined the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team in February 2021. He is currently the weekday noon meteorologist.

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