Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Missouri River Basin June - August 2021. Dated September 2021.

Extreme heat and reduced precipitation in the region this summer had a major impact on crops, grasslands, and wildlife. Many states ranked in the top 10 warmest summers on record.  Below normal precipitation was present this season for most of the region.

Severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions have become increasingly common throughout the western United States over the past 20 years.  Abnormally dry conditions can lead to a wide range of negative economic impacts across a wide range of sectors that either directly or indirectly depend on weather-dependent ecosystem services. 

The National Weather Service Central Region developed 2021 Fall Hazard Outlooks in coordination with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS); U.S. Department of Agriculture; High Plains Regional Climate Center; and National Interagency Fire Center's Geographic Area Coordination Centers. This outlook highlights the various Fall hazards that could occur and potential impacts across the Northern Plains.

The National Weather Service Central Region developed 2021 Summer Hazard Outlooks in coordination with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and National Water Center; U.S. Department of Agriculture; National Weather Service River Forecast Centers; and National Interagency Fire Centers' Geographic Area Coordination Centers. This outlook highlights the various Summer hazards that could occur and potential impacts across the Northern Plains and Great Lakes region.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Missouri River Basin March - May 2021. Dated June 2021.

There were stark differences in both temperature and precipitation across the region this spring. Temperatures were, for the most part, near to below normal across much of the west and south, and near to above normal across the east.  Meanwhile, heavy precipitation fell across southern areas and little to none fell across the north.

This report describes the morphology of the 2012 summer U.S. Central Great Plains drought, placing the event into a historical context, and providing a diagnosis of its proximate and underlying causes.

This work was performed as part of the NOAA Drought Task Force I organized by the NOAA Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections Program (MAPP) in partnership with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).