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AXUS75 KRIW 242309
DGTRIW
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
400 PM MDT THU NOV 24 2022
...EXTREME DROUGHT SUBSIDES TO SEVERE DROUGHT ACROSS OF WESTERN WYOMING…
.SYNOPSIS:
.DROUGHT INTENSITY AND EXTENT:
COOLER WEATHER AND A GRADUAL INCREASE IN PRECIPITATION OVER THE LAST FOUR WEEKS
HAVE LED TO A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN BOTH SOIL MOISTURE AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS,
PARTICULARLY ACROSS WEST-CENTRAL AND CENTRAL WYOMING. AS NOTED BY THE U.S.
DROUGHT MONITOR MAP ISSUED ON NOVEMBER 22ND, JUST OVER 81 PERCENT OF THE STATE
WAS STILL UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS WHICH RANGED FROM ABNORMALLY DRY TO EXTREME
DROUGHT, COMPARED TO 86 PERCENT A MONTH AGO.
OVER THE PAST FOUR WEEKS EXTREME (D3) DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHWEST TETON
AND NORTHERN SUBLETTE COUNTIES HAVE BEEN IMPROVED TO D2. ADDITIONALLY, SEVERE
(D2) DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAINED ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN TETON, MOST OF
SUBLETTE AND LINCOLN, AS WELL AS NORTHWESTERN SWEETWATER COUNTIES.
MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE ADDED TO EASTERN NATRONA COUNTY, WHILE
CONTINUING ACROSS CENTRAL TETON, EXTREME WESTERN FREMONT, SOUTHEAST SUBLETTE,
AND WESTERN AND SOUTHERN SWEETWATER COUNTIES. ABNORMALLY DRY (D0) CONDITIONS
WERE REMOVED FROM NORTHERN FREMONT AND WESTERN HOT SPRINGS COUNTIES AND REMAINED
ACROSS NORTHERN TETON, WESTERN AND SOUTHERN PARK, EASTERN HOT SPRINGS AND MOST
OF WASHAKIE COUNTIES,AS WELL AS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FREMONT, CENTRAL AND
NORTHEAST SWEETWATER, CENTRAL AND EASTERN JOHNSON AND MOST OF NATRONA COUNTIES.
.TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION:
TEMPERATURES OVER THE PAST FOUR WEEKS HAVE FINALLY BECOME MORE SEASONABLE AFTER
FOUR GOOD COLD FRONTS PASSED ACROSS WYOMING. THE COLDEST SYSTEM CAME IN MID-
NOVEMBER WHICH ACTUALLY BROUGHT SOME SNOW AS WELL AS THE FIRST ROUND OF SUB-
ZERO READINGS TO MUCH OF THE STATE. OVERALL, TEMPERATURES DURING THIS PERIOD
WERE VERY COLD ACROSS THE REGION, AVERAGING 6 TO 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE
COOLEST REGION WAS LOCATED ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN BIG HORN COUNTY WITH
READINGS THAT WERE 12 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE WARMEST AREA OF THE STATE
WAS OBSERVED ACROSS CENTRAL SUBLETTE AND MOST OF FREMONT AND JOHNSON COUNTIES
WHICH HAD AVERAGED READINGS OF 3 TO 6 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.
A CHANGE IN STORM TRAJECTORY HELPED TO BRING MORE MOISTURE TO THE PARCHED WEST
AND SOUTHWEST DURING THE PAST MONTH. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF TWO COLD
FRONTS THAT MOVED ACROSS THE STATE DURING THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF NOVEMBER WHICH
BROUGHT ON AVERAGE OVER A HALF OF AN INCH OF MOISTURE TO THE SOUTHWEST. OVERALL,
THE REGION WAS JUST ABOVE NORMAL IN PRECIPITATION WITH MOST OF THE WEST AND
SOUTHWEST ON THE ABOVE SIDE, WITH THE DRIER AREAS ACROSS THE NORTH AND CENTRAL
SECTIONS. THE WETTEST REGIONS ACROSS WYOMING WERE REPORTED ACROSS WESTERN
SWEETWATER AND SOUTHERN SUBLETTE COUNTIES WHERE OVER 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL
PRECIPITATION WERE RECORDED. DURING THIS SAME PERIOD THE DRIEST AREA WAS
OBSERVED ACROSS CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY WHERE LESS THAN 25 PERCENT OF NORMAL
PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED.
.HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS:
STREAMS ACROSS THE REGION CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RECOVER AS MORE STORMS AND RESULTING
PRECIPITATION ARE DIRECTED OVER WYOMING. THE UPDATED REPORT ON THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY WATERWATCH WEBSITE REPORTED NEAR NORMAL FLOWS ACROSS MOST OF WYOMING, WITH
ONLY THE FAR WEST STILL RECORDING BELOW NORMAL STREAMFLOWS AS THE PRECIPITATION
DEFICIT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO RECOVER ACROSS THAT AREA.
RESERVOIRS ACROSS THE REGION HAVE STARTED TO LEVEL OFF, WHILE A FEW HAVE EVEN
STARTED TO POST SLIGHT GAINS OVER THE PAST 30 DAYS. THIS IS ALL DUE TO COOLER
TEMPERATURES, INCREASING PRECIPITATION AND THE CLOSING OF THE MAIN GROWING SEASON.
THE GREEN RIVER BASIN’S RESERVOIRS CONTINUE TO HAVE INCREASED FLOWS TO FEED FLAMING
GORGE, WHICH IN TURN HAS BEEN INCREASING DOWNSTREAM FLOWS TO ASSIST THE COLORADO
RIVER SITUATION. AREA RESERVOIRS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING RANGED FROM
85 PERCENT FULL AT BOYSEN TO 17 PERCENT AT JACKSON LAKE, WITH SITES ACROSS THE
SOUTH AVERAGING BETWEEN 85 PERCENT FULL AT ALCOVA TO 14 PERCENT AT THE BIG SANDY
RESERVOIR.
SNOWPACK CONDITIONS:
THE SNOW SEASON STARTED OUT WITH SPURTS AND SPUTTERS, BUT OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS
IT HAS GAINED A FOOTHOLD AND IS SHOWING SOME PROMISE. THE SNOWIEST BASINS SO FAR
THIS SNOW YEAR ARE LOCATED ACROSS THE WEST WITH THE UPPER BEAR RIVER WITH 147
PERCENT, THE MADISON-GALLATIN WITH 141 AND THE SNAKE WITH 114 PERCENT. THE DRIER
REGIONS WERE OBSERVED AROUND THE NORTH-CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE STATE WITH 87
PERCENT IN THE BIGHORN AND 89 PERCENT IN THE TONGUE BASIN.
.SUMMARY OF IMPACTS:
.AGRICULTURE IMPACTS…
COLDER WEATHER HAS TAKEN OVER THE REGION, WITH ENOUGH EFFECT TO HAVE LOWERED THE
FROST DEPTH AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS TO AN AVERAGE OF 12 INCHES. HARVESTING
ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE REGION HAVE MOSTLY BEEN COMPLETED, EXCEPT FOR SOME CORN CROPS
IN BIG HORN COUNTY.
THE MOST RECENT USDA MONTHLY CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION REPORT FOR WYOMING THAT
WAS ISSUED ON NOVEMBER 22ND, INDICATED SLIGHT IMPROVEMENTS AS IT REPORTED THAT 77
PERCENT OF TOPSOIL MOISTURE ACROSS THE STATE WAS AT THE SHORT TO VERY SHORT LEVELS,
COMPARED TO 60 PERCENT THIS TIME LAST YEAR AND THE 5 YEAR AVERAGE OF 47 PERCENT.
SUBSOIL MOISTURE REPORTS ACROSS WYOMING CONTINUED TO INDICATE DRIER CONDITIONS
BELOW THE SURFACE WITH 87 PERCENT BEING REPORTED AS VERY SHORT TO SHORT ON MOISTURE
ACROSS THE REGION, COMPARED TO 74 PERCENT A YEAR AGO AND A 5 YEAR AVERAGE OF 57
PERCENT.
PASTURE AND RANGELAND CONDITIONS ACROSS THE STATE HAVE REPORTED SOME IMPROVEMENTS
OVER THE PAST 30 DAYS, WITH AREAS RATED AT 36 PERCENT VERY POOR TO POOR, COMPARED
TO 52 PERCENT THIS TIME LAST YEAR AND A 5 YEAR AVERAGE OF 34 PERCENT. HAY AND
ROUGHAGE SUPPLIES ACROSS THE REGION HAVE CONTINUED TO BE ON THE POOR SIDE AND WERE
RATED 59 PERCENT VERY SHORT TO SHORT, COMPARED TO 56 PERCENT LAST MONTH. ON THE
OTHER HAND, STOCK WATER SUPPLIES HAVE REMAINED ON THE LOW SIDE ACROSS THE REGION
AND WERE REPORTED AS 61 PERCENT VERY SHORT TO SHORT THIS MONTH, COMPARED TO 60
PERCENT LAST MONTH.
.FIRE DANGER IMPACTS…
THOUGH COOLER AND SOMEWHAT WETTER CONDITIONS HAVE RETURNED TO THE REGION, THE LACK
OF ANY SIGNIFICANT SNOW OR PRECIPITATION AT THE MID AND LOWER ELEVATIONS HAVE KEPT
THE FUELS ON THE DRY SIDE IN MOST LOCATIONS. THE LATEST NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE
CENTER (NIFC) OBSERVED FIRE DANGER RATINGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE MODERATE FIRE DANGER
ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL WYOMING WITH LOW FIRE DANGER OBSERVED ACROSS
THE NORTHWEST AND THE SOUTHWEST.
.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS:
NONE REPORTED.
.LOCAL PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK:
THE MOST RECENT CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S (CPC) OUTLOOK FOR THE STATE OF WYOMING
FOR THE REST OF NOVEMBER THROUGH EARLY DECEMBER, POINTED TO A TREND OF COOLER THAN
NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION WITH A CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION.
THE LATEST CPC SEASONAL OUTLOOK FOR THE PERIOD OF DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY 2023,
INDICATES THAT THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS NORTHERN
WYOMING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION ACROSS NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE STATE.
THE LATEST U.S. MONTHLY DROUGHT OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER,
INDICATED THAT DROUGHT CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST ACROSS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN WYOMING,
WITH SOME IMPROVEMENT ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL AREAS. LOOKING FURTHER OUT
INTO THE NEW YEAR, THE U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY AND
FEBRUARY 2023 HAS DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUING ACROSS SOUTHERN WYOMING WITH SOME
IMPROVEMENT IN CONDITIONS ACROSS THE WEST.
.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE:
THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED BY MID-DECEMBER 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
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