Going into the 2026 crop year, areas of the West and Southern Plains are dry. Drought still grips 50% of the U.S.
The West Remains in the Grip of Six Year Drought as Planting Begins
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The West and Southern Plains are dry.
Transcript
Snowpack readings reveal this past winter has been low on snow and high on persistent or expanding drought across the West and Southern Plains.
As of this week, U.S. Drought Monitor data reveals over 50% of the country is in a moderate or worse drought. Precipitation across the Midwest has alleviated some of the problem across the Corn Belt from Iowa through Ohio. However, conditions continue to get worse in the West.
Allie Mazurek, Climatologist, Colorado State University: “The heat out west has truly just been ridiculous. You know, I'm, I'm based here in Fort Collins, and we set a new monthly March record by 10 degrees Fahrenheit. So our previous was 81 degrees. We hit 91. Previous to that, we hadn't seen a 90 degree day until May.“
Mountain snowpack conditions remain well below normal despite this week’s precipitation across higher elevations. Currently, the snowpack in the Pacific Northwest is 50% below normal.
The Southwest and Southern Plains are in the grip of a six-year old drought.
Allie Mazurek, Climatologist, Colorado State University: “Really March has just made the story so much worse. The heat that we saw in March, particularly in the western US, was very unprecedented and honestly bordering on edge of what I think scientists would even think would be possible at this time of year. So truly, that has just fully changed the situation.”
For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.
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