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Latest Update

Adnan Akyuz, Ph.D State Climatologist

Summary (April 8, 2021)

• March 2021 was the second driest and fourth warmest on record since 1895. It places ND on the driest period in two, three, four, five, six, seven, and 8 –month periods ending in March (Slides 3 through 8).
• Based on the DM map published this morning, 100% of the state is in drought. Ninety-four percent of the state is in at least a Severe Drought category, and 70% of the state is in an Extreme Drought category, which is a 23% increase since last week (Slide 14).
• This week, the Drought Severity and Coverage Index (DSI) reached another historical-high value of 365, exceeding the previous high value recorded on August 8, 2006, by 33 points (Slide 16).
• This also marks the most extensive Extreme Drought coverage on record since 2000, exceeding the previous most extensive coverage on August 15, 2017.
• The estimated population in the drought area is 672,592.
• Soil moisture ranking percentile for shallow (4”) and deep (3’) place most ND soil between 1 and 2 percentile (Slide 19).
• • USDA topsoil moisture percent short-very short coverage is 92% which is 20% greater than the coverage on July 27, 2017, and a 91% increase from last year (Slide 20).

See Latest Full Report April 8, 2021 (PPT)

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