Warmer-than-normal temperatures occurred across the entire Midwest region over the past week. Compared to normal, the warmest areas were in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, where temperatures mostly ranged from 4-12 degrees above normal, with locally warmer readings. Locally heavy rain (over 2 inches in some locations) fell in central and southwest Missouri, while rain also occurred in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. A few areas of precipitation occurred in Iowa and southern Wisconsin, but northern Iowa, central and northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were mostly dry this week. In central and southwest Missouri, streamflow and short-term precipitation deficits improved enough for some improvements to ongoing moderate and severe drought and abnormal dryness. In northwest Missouri, where precipitation was mostly absent this week, continued dry, warm and windy weather combined with lowering soil moisture and streamflow led to expansions of moderate drought. Similar conditions in southwest Kentucky led to a small expansion of abnormal dryness, consistent with the one made in northwest Tennessee. In Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, far southeast Wisconsin and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, localized heavier precipitation in the last few weeks led to improving short-term precipitation deficits and streamflow. Therefore, abnormal dryness coverage dropped this week in some of these areas. Low snowpack, decreasing soil moisture and dry and warm weather from the last couple months led to expansions in moderate drought in west-central Wisconsin; northeast Wisconsin and the southern Michigan Upper Peninsula; northeast, south-central and southwest Minnesota; and northwest Iowa.
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