September 12-18, 2001:

The period of September 12-18 was very quiet and dry in the Midwest. The only places that received significant rain were in the far western portion of the Midwest (Figure 14). Most of the region received less than 50% of normal precipitation for the week (Figure 15). Temperatures were also quite cool, running 2-6°F below normal in most of the region, especially in the eastern Midwest (Figure 16). Light rain lingered in the northern Great Lakes through the 13th, then a dry cold front swept through the Midwest on the 14th and 15th, bringing very scattered rain and cooler temperatures. The western end of the cold front became stationary on the 15th and returned into western Iowa and Missouri as a warm front. Very heavy rains fell in the Kansas City area on the 16th and 17th, resulting in flash flooding. Some of this rain spread eastward into the rest of Missouri at the end of the period. Soil moisture levels in many states in the Midwest improved this week, reflecting heavy and widespread rains that occurred after the start of the latest weekly soil moisture estimation but before September 12. Only Kentucky experienced a large increase in the percentage of topsoil rated short / very short, +10% for the week, but many states in the northern and northwestern portions of the region had decreases in topsoil rated s/vs from several percent all the way up to -30% in South Dakota. Areas of the Midwest rated as abnormally dry or in moderate drought did not change this week, although the extent of abnormally dry conditions was reduced in Nebraska and South Dakota (Figure 17, National Drought Mitigation Center).