Drought Conditions Worsen In North Dakota
The National Weather Service in Bismarck put out a new drought information statement for western and central North Dakota last week. Abnormally dry to extreme drought conditions are an ongoing problem across western North Dakota.
Drought intensity levels have continued to increase. D3 or extreme drought can be seen in portions of Divide, Williams, Slope and Bowman County. D2 or severe drought covers parts of western North Dakota, along the Montana state line. Meanwhile, D1 or moderate drought affects parts of western North Dakota and D0, or abnormally dry also covers parts of western, south central and southeast North Dakota.
Much lower than normal precipitation continues to afflict most of North Dakota. The lower than normal precipitation, along with above normal temperatures, have helped cure native vegetation and crops. This drying of the countryside has left the region prone to wildfires and continued expansion of drought designations.
The USGS stream gages show numerous streams in western North Dakota have streamflow in the low sing digit to 24th percentile.
Very dry conditions have caused a number of wildfires with losses including crops, livestock, machinery, farmsteads or outbuildings. These have been reported by state and local emergency management services.
Significant wildfires sprung up over the first full weekend of October, the largest with a roughly 88,000 acres perimeter.
Loss of numerous hay reserves and forage due to wildfires will cause localized hay shortages.
Burn bans are in place for many counties.
As for the long-range outlooks, the trend of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation which has dried/cured both native vegetation and crops is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Above normal temperatures are favored for the month of October.
That means that the current trend of worsening and expanding drought conditions are likely to persist going forward.
The next milestone in the region’s drought will be the onset of the snow accumulation season in late November to early December. At that point, the conditions will remain largely in suspended animation until such time as conditions during the spring thaw become more predictable.
This report was released on Tuesday, Nov. 9 and will be updated in late November or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.