Drought conditions across the Four States area still show many locations in extreme levels. Little improvement has been made with the recent rainfall across Southwest Missouri but more rain chances by the weekend provide another relief opportunity across the area. Counties that did see a reduction in extreme drought to a severe level of drought were Barry, Newton, and Mcdonald counties and locations already under a severe level of drought remained unchanged. Southeast Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma are experiencing much more extreme drought than that of Southwest Missouri but the northern portions of the Four States have less drought conditions especially near Nevada and Fort Scott.
The Weather Forecasting Office in Springfield, Missouri has stated that there is a low probability of the drought worsening from now through the end of November but it is highly likely that the drought will continue to persist in the area and our likelihood of drought removal will be low moving forward. We certainly need rainfall to alleviate this drought but too much rain during such conditions can lead to flash flooding. When an area sees an extended period of severe or extreme drought this causes vegetation to die and the ground to dry out. When there is a lack of living green ground vegetation the ground cannot absorb water efficiently leading to an increased flood potential in extremely dry areas.