BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Severe drought conditions persist in North Dakota, despite widespread rainfall and cooler weather recently.
About 85% of North Dakota is experiencing extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday. That’s up from 83% last week.
Extreme drought blankets the western and central portions of the state, with most of the Red River Valley in moderate or severe drought, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
“Areas of extreme drought expanded in northern South Dakota and southern North Dakota,” wrote Western Regional Climate Center Associate Research Scientist David Simeral and Climate Prediction Center Meteorologist Richard Tinker.
“In northwestern South Dakota, the town of Lemmon saw its driest January-through-April period on record with only 0.7 inches (1.78 centimeters) of precipitation observed,” they said. “The South Dakota State Extension and the North Dakota State Climate Office are both reporting drought-related impacts in their respective states, including poor water quality for livestock and dry stock ponds.”
The state has received widespread precipitation over the past two weeks.
“Combined with recent cooler temperatures, it has been enough to slow down drought degradation,” the National Weather Service said. “However, soil moisture remains well below average across the majority of the state.”
The tinder-dry conditions across the state have led to more than 800 wildfires scorching 125 square miles )nearly 80,000 acres (323 square kilometers). That’s 8 1/2 times the number of acres that burned in all of 2020, according to Beth Hill, acting outreach and education manager for the North Dakota Forest Service.
