The amount of precipitation in a particular area varies from year to year, but over a period of years the average amount is fairly constant. A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems and other issues. When little or no rain falls, soils can dry out, plants can die and livestock can suffer. When dry weather persists, stream and river flows can decline, water levels in lakes and reservoirs can fall and water in wells and aquifers can decline. Drought can have a serious impact on health, agriculture, economies, energy and the environment.
Droughts can develop quickly or gradually over several weeks, months or even years, and worsened with extreme heat or wind. A drought can end just as quickly or gradually as it began, but more commonly persist for months. A single rainstorm may provide temporary relief, but its impact is short term. Thunderstorms often produce large amounts of rain in a very short time, causing the rain to run off into streams rather than soak into the ground. Several soaking rains may be required to recharge groundwater and break a drought.
Reporting Drought Conditions
Reports and photographs are essential tools used to assess drought conditions. The department encourages the public to submit information and photographs about conditions in their area in order to help local, state and national decision-makers assess drought conditions and impacts in Missouri. If you would like to submit drought-related conditions and impacts for your area, please fill out the survey form at Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR)*
Tips and best practices for using CMOR, including how to download and use its field app, can be found in the CMOR troubleshooting guide. A MoDNR video training, presentation and overview of how CMOR reports help MoDNR achieve its goals are also available. Please note, those uploading photos to CMOR using newer iPhones will need to change their photo format settings to “most compatible” to successfully add images. Users also don’t need a user account to submit CMOR reports, and can “continue without logging in” to proceed.
*The survey is a nationwide service developed by the National Drought Mitigation Center, based at the University of Nebraska, in partnership with the National Integrated Drought Information System and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Drought Update
After two extensions, Missouri's Drought Assessment Committee recommended allowing the drought alert originally established by Executive Order 23-05 to expire at the beginning of September. The decision comes following expert testimony from the committee's state and federal agency partners and an improvement in conditions across the state, although dryness in some areas remains.
The Climate and Weather subcommittee will continue regularly meetings to monitor conditions according to the state's Missouri Drought Mitigation and Response Plan. Missourians are also encouraged to continue submitting condition reports to the CMOR system, even in wet or normal conditions, to help establish a baseline against which to compare future droughts. Drought alerts formalize drought coordination and response for Missouri, but do not affect federal aid determined by the U.S. Drought Monitor.