June 10-16, 2007
Midwest Weekly Highlights - June 10-16, 2007
Dry Weather Gains Foothold
Rain was "as scarce as hen's teeth" this week across most of the nine-state Midwest region. Other than a few isolated showers and thunderstorms at the end of the period, much of the region received no rain at all this week (Figure 1). The notable exception was southwestern Missouri, which received two to four times the normal rainfall for the week. Most of this rain fell on June 10-12 (Figure 2), with much less the remainder of the period (Figure 3). As a result of the continued dry weather, Abnormally Dry conditions were expanded into the southern half of Illinois and Moderate Drought conditions expanded into southern Indiana and severe Drought into southern Kentucky on the June 12 edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 4). Meanwhile, conditions continued to improve in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Temperatures this week were near normal over southern portions of the Midwest to as much as 8°F above normal across Minnesota, the northern half of Wisconsin and the Michigan U.P. (Figure 5)
Torrential Rains In Southwest Missouri
A weak upper level disturbance interacting with a stalled frontal boundary over southwestern Missouri on June 10 (Figure 6) provided a focus for training thunderstorms. Thunderstorms rumbled across the region beginning the afternoon of June 10 and continuing through June 11, leaving inches of rain their wake. Two weak tornadoes were reported in southwestern Missouri on June 10 causing little damage. On the morning of June 11 flash flood warnings covered many of the counties from southeastern Kansas through southwestern Missouri because of the torrential rains (Figure 7). Numerous creeks and rivers in southwestern Missouri flooded, closing roads and prompting evacuations of residents. The National Weather Service reported that six water rescues were in progress at the same time on the morning of June 11 as people became stranded in their vehicles. A 66 year-old man died in McDonald County after driving into five feet of swiftly flowing water. The truck he was driving was found approximately 200 yards down stream and his body was found about a mile downstream from where he entered the water.
Numerous daily rainfall records were set during this event. At the major reporting stations, June 10 records were set at Joplin (3.86") and Vichy/Rolla (2.52"), and on June 11 records were set at Joplin (3.60") and Springfield (2.34"). With the rainfall from this event (9.35" Joplin currently stands with its second wettest June on record. Radar estimated rainfall for the period reached 8.00 to 9.00 inches in Barton and Jasper County (Figure 8). In Carthage (Jasper County) an observer recorded 8.82 inches of rain between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. on June 11. Twenty-four rainfall amounts from the CoCoRaHS network in Barton County were as high as 7.42 inches on June 11 (Figure 9).
Rain Shuts Off
The rain in Missouri at the beginning of the period was the last significant rain for most of the region the rest of the week. Isolated showers and thundershowers popped up across parts of the region June 13-15 (Figure 10), but they did little to bring relief from the widespread dry conditions that exist over much of the region east of the Mississippi River. There were scattered reports of severe weather during the week throughout the region, most of which were wind and hail. On June 10 thunderstorms with hail from 0.75 to 1.75 inches caused 100 percent defoliation of corn and soybeans in a 4 by 6 mile area in Kandiyohi County, MN. Drought intensity worsened in Kentucky, and for the four month period ending May 31 most of Kentucky was was experiencing one of the top six driest periods since 1895. As this week closed the Kentucky Division of Water issued a water watch for 61 of Kentucky's 120 counties.
SDH