Much of the Midwest saw little or no rain this week and experienced above-normal temperatures. The weekly departures were generally 4 to 10 degrees above normal in the upper Midwest and parts of western Missouri.

It means the US Drought Monitor has dramatically expanded its area in the Abnormally Dry, or D0, category. Iowa is also showing a 5-county area in the central part of the state in the D1, or moderate drought stage. Iowa shows 42 percent of the state with some sort of moisture shortage. 7 percent of the state reports moderate drought. The northern tiers of Taylor, Ringgold, and Decatur counties are all in the D0 category.

Missouri’s map showed a nominal expansion of dryness in the western tier of counties, but dryness was eliminated in southeast Missouri due to recent rains. There are 6 counties in the southwest tier of the state that are showing moderate drought for the first time this year.