1/04/2024

In the past week light rain fell across the southern region, limiting many drought degradations.. Although this rainfall was not substantial enough to make any drastic improvements to drought. Small one class improvements occurred in Southern Mississippi and the southern Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee. While the Texarkana region and the Western half of Tennessee saw some one class degradations.

Looking into the future, as outlined by the Monthly Drought Outlook, valid for this January, drought improvements follow what one would expect with a strong El Niño. Drought removal is likely in the Lower Brazos Valley, Houston area, areas of Southern Louisiana, and Mississippi. Drought is expected to remain, yet improve in Central Louisiana, Southeastern Arkansas, and Central Mississippi. Finally, drought is expected to persist in West Texas, Central Texas, Southern Oklahoma, and Tennessee.