Arkansas Storm Team Blog: Drought worsens across western & central Arkansas

It’s no secret it’s been a dry start to October. Much of the state has not seen rain this month, leading to worsening drought conditions.

Our drought monitor comes out every Thursday morning. Last week’s map showed worsening moderate drought for much of the western half of the day. There were also two areas of severe drought in the far NW corner of the state, and covering most of Perry County.

After another completely dry week, that has gotten worse. Extreme drought now covers far NW Arkansas. Central Arkansas also has an expanding area of severe drought. Severe drought has also started to develop in southcentral Arkansas.

Burn bans have also started to increase, especially across western and central Arkansas.

Wildfire danger has also increased. Much of western, southern, and central Arkansas are now under high wildfire danger.

Unfortunately, for the next 7-10 days at least, rain still does not look likely for The Natural State. Next week’s drought monitor will likely show worsening conditions.

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