Drought in Dunklin, Missouri

D3 Extreme Drought conditions started off the month with a brief worsening period to D4 Exceptional Drought in extreme northern and southwest portions of the county. Heavy rainfall was able to bring relief by the end of the month to D3 and D2 Severe Drought conditions across the county.

May 2026 proved to be an exhausting, high-stakes month for producers and climatologists in the Missouri Bootheel. While much of central and northern Missouri experienced a historically wet spring that routinely delayed fieldwork, the southeast corner of the state remained a stark anomaly. Locked into a persistent spring recharge gap, the Bootheel entered the core of the planting season with its subsoil water bank completely depleted.

While the broader Midwest saw fluctuating rainfall patterns, the Bootheel suffered from a frustrating trend of streaky showers that frequently dissipated right as they approached the region.