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The dryness of September was a contiuation of dry conditions from August across much of the western Great Lakes to Upper Mississippi Valley, from July across parts of the northern Plains, northern Rockies, and Southwest, and June across much of the Pacific Northwest. Even longer-term moisture deficits (last 12 to 24 months) persisted across parts of the Great Lakes to central and northern Plains, Maine, and most of the West.

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Some regional highlights:

• Montana had its driest July-September, Washington its driest June-September and May-September and fifth driest July-September, New Mexico its second driest April-September and third driest July-September, Oregon its second driest June-September, and Wyoming its seventh driest April-September and sixth driest July-September, in 2003, based on statewide records going back to 1895
• according to October 5 reports from the USDA,
  • 60% or more of the topsoils were classified in "poor" or "very poor" ("short" or "very short") condition for all but one of the reporting states from the Rockies westward
  • 50% or more of the topsoils were classified in "poor" or "very poor" ("short" or "very short") condition for Georgia, Texas, and the states from the western Great Lakes to central and northern Plains
• end-of-September reservoir storage for all of the reporting western states averaged below the long-term mean percent of capacity for this time of year
• the percent area of the western U.S. (Rockies westward) experiencing moderate to severe drought (as defined by the Palmer Drought Index) increased during September to about 76%, which is near record historical levels

• Palmer Drought Indices,
• Standardized Precipitation Index,
• airport station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• statewide precipitation rank maps,
• Cooperative station percent of normal precipitation maps,
• satellite-based observations of vegetative health,
• satellite-based observations of surface moisture,
• National Weather Service model calculations of
  • soil moisture,
  • runoff,
  • evaporation,
• Midwest Regional Climate Center model calculations of soil moisture,
• percent of average maps for the SNOTEL stations in the western mountains provided by the Western Regional Climate Center
  • hydrologic year precipitation,
• streamflow maps maintained by the USGS.

A detailed review of drought conditions is available for the following regions and states:

• Northwest region
• Southwest region
• West region
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming
• West North Central region
• East North Central region
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Wisconsin
• Georgia
• Maine

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For additional information on current and past wildfire seasons please see the National Interagency Fire Center web site or the U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation web site.

NCDC's Drought Recovery Page shows the precipitation required to end or ameliorate droughts and the probability of receiving the required precipitation.

Additional climate monitoring graphics can be found at the Climate Prediction Center's monitoring pages:

• Weekly, Monthly, 3-Month, 12-Month Monitoring
• El Nino, Drought, Snow Cover, and Degree Day Monitoring
• Weekly Drought Monitoring
• Soil Moisture Monitoring

Precipitation and modeled soil moisture anomaly maps for the Midwest U.S. can be found at the Midwest Regional Climate Center's monitoring page.

Drought conditions on the Canadian prairies can be found at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Drought Watch page.