August 7-13, 2002: Dryness Expands in the Eastern Midwest.

The week of August 7-13 brought dry conditions to the central and eastern Midwest, but some relief at the end of the period to the western Midwest.. Northern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota received 2-3 inches of rain, and other parts of Minnesota, central Wisconsin, and southern Missouri reported 1-2 inches of rain (Figure 13). Almost the entirety of the remainder of the Midwest received less than 0.25 inches of rain. Most of the Midwest south and east of the rainy areas had only 25% or less of normal rain for the week (Figure 14). Fortunately, temperatures averaged 1-3°F below normal in the central and eastern Midwest, reducing some temperature-related stress, although the northern Midwest was several degrees warmer than normal (Figure 15). Since the relatively extensive rains at the end of July, most of the Midwest south and east of a line from northern Iowa to northern Michigan have received less than 50% of normal precipitation. Therefore, drought that was previously retreating has been expanding and intensifying once again across the central and eastern Midwest (Figure 16, NDMC).