Summer thunderstorms, with their hit-or-miss nature, dominated precipitation patterns across the U.S. this week. The greatest departures from normal precipitation occurred across portions of the central and southern Plains, West Texas, New Mexico, and the Midwest. Areas of southern Louisiana, northern Alabama, and western Kentucky also recorded well-above-normal precipitation. The East Coast remained dry, with the exception of Florida’s Atlantic coast. Much of the West also remained dry, with only portions of the Pacific Northwest and southern California recording near- to above-normal precipitation.
Temperatures for the week were below normal across the Southeast, with parts of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina averaging 3–6 degrees below normal. Portions of West Texas, southeast New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest were also below normal. The greatest temperature departures occurred in the central and northern Plains, where portions of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota experienced temperatures 9–12 degrees above normal.
Drought signals across much of the southern U.S. remain mixed, with wetter short-term conditions developing while long-term deficits persist despite the recent pattern change. In the Plains, impacts have primarily affected winter wheat and forage production, and areas that have remained dry continue to experience elevated fire danger. In the Southeast, water supply concerns and fire danger remain significant, particularly in Florida.
Temperatures were warmer than normal across nearly the entire region this week, with the greatest departures occurring in New England, where some locations averaged 4–6 degrees above normal. Dry conditions, combined with the warmer-than-normal temperatures, allowed existing drought conditions to intensify and expand.
In New Jersey, severe drought expanded across much of the northern portion of the state and into New York and eastern Pennsylvania. Abnormally dry conditions expanded across southeastern New York, while moderate drought expanded in southern Connecticut and western Massachusetts. Severe drought also expanded across eastern Massachusetts, eastern Rhode Island, and portions of eastern Maryland. Extreme drought was introduced in southern New Jersey and expanded into Delaware and eastern Maryland. A combination of short- and long-term drought is affecting agriculture as well as groundwater and surface water resources throughout the region.
Southeast
A cooler-than-normal week was observed across most of the region, with nearly all areas at or below average temperatures except northern Virginia. Portions of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida experienced temperatures 4–6 degrees below normal, while northern Virginia averaged 2–4 degrees above normal.
Precipitation was limited, with only western Georgia and northern Alabama receiving significant rainfall. Southern Florida also experienced convective thunderstorms along the coast. Despite the relatively dry week, the recent wetter pattern continued to support drought improvements across the region.
Drought conditions remain mixed where long-term deficits persist, and significant water supply concerns continue in southern Georgia and throughout Florida. Reservoirs and lakes that were drawn down substantially over the past year are recovering more slowly than other drought indicators. Fire concerns also remain elevated, especially in Florida, where several burn bans are still in effect. Lake Okeechobee remains low, continuing to lose more water than it receives. The lake is nearly 2 feet below its normal level for this time of year and is only 0.28 feet above the critical 10% threshold.
Improvements occurred across much of Georgia, Florida and Alabama, while degradation and intensification took place in North Carolina and Virginia. Extreme drought expanded across eastern Virginia, and moderate and severe drought also expanded across eastern and central portions of the state. In North Carolina, extreme drought expanded while a new area of exceptional drought was introduced across the central and northern portions of the state, with severe drought extending toward the Coastal Plain.
Although some long-term indicators continue to lag, drought metrics in Florida still reflected improvement. Extreme and exceptional drought contracted in both northern and southern portions of the state, while severe drought was reduced along the southern Atlantic coast. In southern Georgia, extreme drought improved to severe drought, while moderate and severe drought improved across western portions of the state. Continued wet conditions in northern Alabama allowed reductions in abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought, with additional improvements occurring in southern portions of the state.
The prominent impact designation was changed from “SL” to “L” to reflect that the primary impacts are now long-term in nature.
Midwest
Growing short-term drought signals were tempered by a wetter week across much of the region, resulting primarily in improvements, with degradations confined to Minnesota. The heaviest rainfall occurred from eastern Iowa into western Indiana and across much of western and central Missouri. Western Kentucky also received above-normal precipitation. Below-normal precipitation was common from western Iowa into Minnesota, across much of central Wisconsin, and in Ohio and southern portions of Indiana and Illinois.
Temperatures were mixed, with much of the region above normal and Minnesota averaging 8–10 degrees above normal. Near- to below-normal temperatures were observed from southern Missouri into Kentucky.
Improvements to abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought occurred across northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and northeastern and southern Missouri. Extreme drought was removed from western Kentucky, accompanied by improvements to moderate drought there and into southern Illinois.
The most significant change occurred in Minnesota, where the cumulative effects of multiple dry years have affected much of the northern portion of the state, including the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Moderate drought expanded, and severe drought was introduced.
High Plains
Temperatures were generally warmer than normal across the region, with portions of the Dakotas and western Nebraska averaging 9–12 degrees above normal. Above-normal precipitation occurred in southern Nebraska, northern Kansas, northern Nebraska into southern and central South Dakota, and across much of northern North Dakota. Areas along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Montana through Colorado remained largely dry.
Drought intensity eased where the heaviest rains fell in Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota, and drought was eliminated in portions of northern Kansas and southeast Nebraska. Southeast South Dakota continued to miss significant rainfall, and the combination of short- and long-term dryness allowed moderate and severe drought to expand. Degradation also occurred in eastern Colorado, where extreme drought expanded in the north and moderate drought expanded across east-central portions of the state. Extreme drought was reduced slightly in southern Colorado following recent rainfall.
Temperatures were mixed, with Oklahoma and Arkansas averaging 2–4 degrees above normal. Meanwhile, much of West, south and east Texas, along with eastern Mississippi and Tennessee, averaged 2–4 degrees below normal.
Most of the region received some precipitation, although eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, southern Texas, and southwest Oklahoma were the driest locations. The continuing wetter pattern resulted in additional improvements, with drought eliminated across more of central Texas and eastern Oklahoma. Drought also eased across much of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, although widespread severe and extreme drought persisted.
Long-term dryness in far south Texas continues to improve, and improving local conditions combined with short-term data supported the removal of remaining abnormally dry designations. Improvements also occurred in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee, where recent wet conditions are beginning to offset longer-term drought indicators.
West
Above-normal precipitation was limited to a few locations, primarily along the Pacific Northwest coast and across southern and eastern New Mexico. Temperatures were above normal across much of the region, with departures of 6–9 degrees above normal across Nevada, Utah and western Colorado. Cooler-than-normal temperatures occurred in the Pacific Northwest and eastern New Mexico, where departures averaged 3–4 degrees below normal.
Although some areas have recently received additional precipitation, a winter characterized by above-normal temperatures and below-normal snowpack continues to affect the region and will likely influence conditions through the summer. Conditions deteriorated in Oregon, where moderate, severe and extreme drought expanded across much of the eastern portion of the state, although southern Oregon experienced localized improvements to moderate drought.
Elsewhere, western Montana benefited from recent rainfall, allowing severe and extreme drought to improve. Extreme drought also improved across much of eastern Utah, while southern and eastern New Mexico saw additional improvements following precipitation totals exceeding 200% of normal.
Southern Puerto Rico continued to dry out and has begun to raise concerns among water suppliers. Moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions expanded this week.
Dry conditions persisted across the U.S. Virgin Islands this week, with St. John and St. Thomas degrading from abnormal dryness (D0-S) to short-term moderate drought (D1-and St. Croix remained in short-term moderate drought (D1-S). On St. John, Rafe Boulon/Windswept Beach reported no rain and CoCoRaHS stations across the island only recorded an average of 0.08 inches. Groundwater levels at the Susannaberg DPW 3 well was 15.02 feet below the land surface on June 9; analysis shows that water levels have mostly declined since October 19, 2025. Over the past year, this groundwater level has dropped approximately 5.2 feet from the 9.82 feet reported on June 9, 2025. This localized dryness is backed up by the short-term SPI.
On St. Thomas, Cyril E. King Airport also reported no rain this week and CoCoRaHS stations averaged 0.08 inches. The depth to water at the Grade School 3 well was measured at 9.03 feet below the land surface on June 9, showing a slight increase of 0.1 feet from last week (June 2 - 9.03 feet). SPI values confirm these emerging deficits, showing dry conditions at the 1-, 3- and 6-month timescales, while longer-term SPI timescales for the island were unavailable.
On St. Croix, a total of 0.06 inches of rain was reported on St. Croix at Henry Rohlsen Airport this week, while the East Hill station recorded 0.71 inches this week (matching the average CoCoRaHS observations of 0.72 inches). The depth to water at the Adventure 28 Well was 21.76 feet below the land surface on June 9, reflecting a steady and severe decrease over the past year. This is a drop of 7.6 feet compared to this time last year, when the groundwater level sat at 14.46 feet on June 9, 2025. Reflecting this prolonged deficit, the 1-, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month SPI values all confirm prevailing dry conditions on St. Croix.
Pacific
No changes were made in Alaska.
No changes were made in Hawaii.
Rain was light across the much of Republic of the Marshall Islands. Ulirik, Ailinglapalap, Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje and Kwajalein all recorded less than an inch of rain with 0.22, 0.30, 0.38, 0.41, 0.91 and 0.98 inches respectively. Mili recorded 3.45 inches of rain this week. All islands remain free of dryness.
The Federated States of Micronesia received heavy precipitation across most island, keeping them free of any dryness. Most islands recorded more than 2.5 inches of precipitation this week with: Chuuk Lagoon (4.98 inches), Pohnpei (3.14 inches) Nukuoro (2.92 inches), Lukunor (4.80 inches), Kapingamarangi (9.84 inches), and Woleai (2.70 inches). The exception was on Yap (1.46 inches) and Kosrae (0.19 inches). With Fananu, Pingelap and Ulithi having no data for analysis.
The Republic of Palau remains free of dryness with Koror recording 1.93 inches of rain this week along with Airai recording 4.49 inches, following a wet May that recorded 17.54 inches.
It was another dry week across the Marianas Islands. Guam recorded just 0.23 inches and Rota recorded 0.31 inches of rain this week. Saipan International Airport recorded 0.7 inches. A dry signal is beginning to appear and will need beneficial rain in the weeks to come to remain free of abnormal dryness.
American Samoa experienced a dry week, with Pago Pago receiving 0.27 inches, Siufaga Ridge recorded 0.74 inches and Toa Ridge missing out on any rain this week. Despite this week’s drier conditions, a good May in terms of rainfall means that American Samoa will remain free of drought and dryness.
Looking Ahead
During the next 5–7 days, the West is expected to remain quite dry, while the southern U.S. and portions of the Midwest have the greatest potential for above-normal precipitation. The northern Plains and Southwest are forecast to receive less than 1 inch of precipitation.
Temperatures are expected to remain warmer than normal across the West, with departures exceeding 10 degrees above normal in Nevada and portions of the Pacific Northwest. Most of the remainder of the country is expected to experience near- to slightly below-normal temperatures.
The 6–10 day outlook shows the best chances for above-normal temperatures will be across the West and Southeast, especially in areas centered on Nevada and much of South Florida. Above-normal chances for below-normal temperatures will be centered on the Great Lakes and Midwest, with the highest probabilities over Michigan.
Above-normal chances for below-normal precipitation will be over much of the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, as well as northern areas of California, Nevada, and into Oregon. Above-normal chances for above-normal precipitation will be mainly in the southern and eastern U.S., with the highest probabilities in South Texas and into the lower Mississippi River Valley.
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