441 NOUS45 KRIW 222124 PNSRIW WYZ001>020-022>030-230924- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Riverton WY 324 PM MDT Wed Jun 22 2022 DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT National Weather Service Riverton WY 310 PM MDT WED JUNE 22 2022 ...EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAIN ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING… .SYNOPSIS: .Drought Intensity and Extent: Cooler conditions and one strong cold front brought moderating conditions to northern and central Wyoming over the past month, which improved conditions across that part of the state. Drier conditions across the south kept a deficit in precipitation totals for another month as drought remained unchanged across western and southern Wyoming. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map that was updated on June 16th, 93 percent of the state remained under drought conditions ranging from Abnormally Dry to Extreme Drought. During the last four weeks Extreme (D3) Drought conditions were removed from northern Teton and western Park Counties, while remaining across central Teton and northeast Sublette Counties, in addition to central and southeastern Lincoln and extreme western Sweetwater Counties. Severe (D2) Drought conditions were downgraded from all of northern Wyoming, while persisting across the rest of Teton, Sublette, Lincoln and northwestern and southern Sweetwater Counties. Moderate (D1) Drought conditions were observed across western Fremont, central and eastern Sweetwater, and northern and eastern Johnson Counties. Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions were now seen across northern Teton, most of Park, Big Horn and Washakie Counties,as well as the eastern half of Fremont, southwest Johnson and most of Natrona Counties. .Temperature and Precipitation: During the past four weeks, Wyoming was cooler, with wet conditions observed across the northwest and south-central sections, and drier across the southwest and central areas of the state. This latest series of cold fronts did bring a few rounds of late season snow to the mountains, along with near freezing readings observed in the lower elevations. Overall, temperatures across the area averaged 1 to 2 degrees below normal. The coldest areas were located across northern Big Horn, central Park, southeast Sublette and northwest Natrona Counties where readings were 2 to 3 degrees colder than normal. The warmest part of the state was located across southwestern Lincoln County which had readings near average to 1 degree above normal. The month of May ended with three days of widespread precipitation that also brought several inches of new snow to the mountains. This system brought three day totals of 2 to 5 inches of liquid precipitation to a number of sites across northwest and northern Wyoming. On the dry side of the weather pattern, these systems did not produce as much precipitation across southwest and central Wyoming. During the last four weeks the wettest areas were recorded across northern Teton, northwest and central Park and northeast Natrona Counties where over 200 percent of normal precipitation fell. The driest regions of Wyoming were observed across southern Sublette and northeast Lincoln Counties where less than 50 percent of normal precipitation was recorded. .Hydrologic Conditions: Above normal precipitation and a few days of above normal temperatures around June 10th-12th assisted in melting of the high level snowpack which rapidly raised river heights across northwestern Wyoming and produced areas of major flooding. The latest report from the U.S. Geological Survey WaterWatch web page indicated near normal flows across most of the region with above normal flows across the northwest and below average flows across the drier southwest. Reservoirs across the region were increasing in water levels, particularly across the northern and central areas of the state where the most precipitation and high elevation snowpack melting were peaking. Reservoirs across northern and central Wyoming ranged from 96 percent full at Boysen to 46 percent at Jackson Lake, with sites across the south averaging 98 percent full at Alcova to 52 percent at Seminoe. Snowpack Conditions: Warmer than normal temperatures in the third week of May and the second week of June quickly melted out any remaining mid and low level snowpack and reduced the higher elevation (above 9400 feet) snow by half. Weekly update reports from the Natural Resources and Conservation Service ended on May 24th. .SUMMARY OF IMPACTS: .Agriculture Impacts... A strong and slow moving cold front that drifted across Wyoming at the end of May and the start of June, brought cooler and very wet conditions to much of Wyoming which helped in improving short term soil moisture conditions. Additionally, the cooler weather, at the beginning of June with even some snow and ground frost hampered planting operations and crop growth. The latest USDA Wyoming Monthly Crop Progress and Condition Report issued on June 19th indicated general improvements to soil moisture conditions over the last four weeks as 47 percent of topsoil moisture across the state were reported at the short to very short levels, compared to 71 percent this time last year and the 5 year average of 38 percent. The subsoil moisture reports across Wyoming have also shown some recovery with 49 percent being reported as very short to short on moisture across the region, compared to 70 percent a year ago and a 5 year average of 38 percent. Pasture and rangeland conditions have also indicated gradual improvements over the past month with areas rated at 16 percent very poor to poor, compared to 51 percent this time last year and a 5 year average of 18 percent. Additionally, stock water supplies have shown overall improvements across the region and were reported as 11 percent very short to short this last month, compared to 13 percent last month. .Fire Danger Impacts… After a cool and wet period during the last few days of May, warmer and mostly drier conditions moved across much of southern and central Wyoming in June. This has started to reduce the average fuel and soil moisture conditions across the region, especially east of the Continental Divide. The latest National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Observed Fire Danger ratings indicated High Fire Danger across southeast Wyoming, Moderate Danger across the southern and central sections with Low Fire Danger across the west. .DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS: None. .LOCAL PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK: The latest Climate Prediction Center`s (CPC) outlook for Wyoming for the rest of June indicated a trend of warmer than normal temperatures with a slight chance of above normal precipitation. The CPC seasonal outlooks for the period of July through September indicated a trend towards above normal temperatures and below average precipitation for the summer across the state. The latest U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for the rest of June showed indications of continued drought conditions across southern Wyoming with some improvement across the north. Additionally, the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook for the period of July through September has drought conditions persisting across western, southern and eastern Wyoming through the period. .NEXT ISSUANCE DATE: This product will be updated by mid-July 2022 or sooner if necessary, in response to any significant changes in conditions. && .RELATED WEB SITES: Additional information on current drought conditions may be found at The following web addresses: U.S. Drought Monitor: https://www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu U.S. Drought Information System: https://drought.gov NWS Riverton drought page: https://www.weather.gov/riw/drought Wyoming Water Resource Data System (WRDS): http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu To report effects of the drought in your area, please go to the Drought Impact Reporter at: http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/ .Acknowledgments: The U.S. Drought Monitor is a multi-agency effort involving the National Weather Service and National Centers for Environmental Information, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), state and regional climatologists, and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Information for this statement was gathered from NWS and FAA observation sites, state cooperative extension services, the USDA and USGS. .Questions or comments: If you have any questions or comments about this drought information Statement, please contact: National Weather Service 12744 West US Highway 26 Riverton, WY 82501 Phone: 800-211-1448 Email: nws.riverton@noaa.gov $$