According to today's Drought Monitor report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in the Midwest, localized heavier rains (exceeding 2 inches in spots) fell across the western reaches of the region, though large swaths of drier-than-normal weather occurred here.
Farther east, in Kentucky and the Great Lakes states, mostly or completely dry weather occurred this week, which led to mounting short-term precipitation deficits and worsening streamflows and soil moisture values.
Unusually warm temperatures, reaching or exceeding 9 degrees above normal in large portions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, also contributed to worsening dryness.
Large-scale additions and expansions of abnormal dryness and moderate drought occurred, especially along and east of the Mississippi River and in central Minnesota, where the combination of precipitation deficits, low streamflow, and declining soil moisture was most prevalent.
Due to similar conditions along the Missouri River in western Iowa, some expansions were made to the severe drought there.