MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — The region’s drought situation remained stable last week, despite little rain and scorching temperatures.
Davison County is still split between moderate (47%) and severe drought (53%). The drought lessens the further north you go. Miner and Sanborn Counties are only dealing with moderate drought. Beadle County has a large swath that is just abnormally dry.
To the south, Douglas and Hutchinson Counties are nearly exclusively in severe drought. Extreme drought appears along the Nebraska border in Bon Homme, Charles Mix, and Yankton Counties.
As far as statewide conditions, they slightly worsened over the week. An area of extreme drought developed north of Pierre by Eagle Butte. The areas without drought continue to be clustered in the northeast and northwest corners of the state, along with a pocket by Fort Thompson and the big bend of the Missouri River.
According to the National Weather Service, the station at the Mitchell Regional Airport has recorded 0.17” of rain through 22 days in July. The monthly is 2.36”. There is no rain forecast over the next week and a half that looks to make up that deficit.