Drought — De Kalb, Missouri

2018-08-01 to 2018-08-31 · De Kalb, Missouri

Event narrative

DeKalb County reached or maintained D4 drought status for the entire month. While rain did move into the area through the month, the ground was dry enough from the below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures through the month to warrant D4 status maintenance. The direct impact to DeKalb County is unclear, but statewide drought impacts are estimated around 2 billion dollars, per The University of Missouri Extension Center. The drought has also hurt pastures, with about three-quarters in poor or very poor conditions, according to the USDA report. Many pastures haven't been able to support grazing cattle, prompting farmers to feed cattle with hay that might normally be saved for winter. It's also hurt the hay crop, which is down about one-third from normal. The 2018 drought is turning out small corn ears. Some farmers are not waiting until harvest, instead trying to get the most out of the crop by baling it or cutting it for silage for cattle. Farmers can now clean out sediment in ponds to increase water-holding capacity. Ponds in the conservation program are built for erosion control.

Sources: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/from-drinking-water-to-farms-drought-s-effect-creeping-across/article_35440d14-a1c4-5f86-ac64-b5b63906fe57.html .

https://www.foxnews.com/us/drought-takes-toll-on-missouri-farmers-crops-cattle .

https://www.missouriruralist.com/weather/cattleman-turns-baling-corn-drought .

https://www.missouriruralist.com/conservation/3-conservation-restrictions-lifted-during-drought .

Wider weather episode

Precipitation picked up during August, especially in some of the hardest hit drought areas, but in a lot of cases the damage had already been done, and while the rains did pick back up the ground soil was so parched that it made hardly a dent in the drought across northern Missouri.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 779676. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.