Relief, Overkill and Some Rain Envy in South Dakota

In the midst of a predicted wet week in South Dakota, it appears that the 2018 is proving to be a replenishing year so far in most areas.

Bolstered by an extremely wet and chilly April, drought conditions have vanished in the southern third of the Mount Rushmore State. Compared to January 1 of this year, the drought monitor shows quite a turnaround because at the beginning of 2018 only the areas around Big Stone Lake down to Brookings and De Smet had adequate moisture.

The most dramatic turnaround when it comes to moisture replenishment is in western areas of the state as areas around Wall. Areas of eastern Pennington County that once landed in the extreme drought category received enough precipitation to get back to even. The stock dams will continue to advance toward a fuller capacity as some flooding is possible in that area this week according to the forecast as well as much of southwest South Dakota.

However, near Aberdeen, Redfield and Faulkton there still is a dire need for some rain with little help forecasted for this week. Additionally, the area around Big Stone Lake that started the calendar year with adequate supply has missed a lot of timely rains especially in Roberts County.

Overall, South Dakota has a majority of its surface area with a decent amount of topsoil for crops to grow properly with a few areas that could classify as too wet. As summer begins, it bears watching for the areas out west that could get closer to a decent moisture level while the northeast would take all it can get.

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