Recent rainfall across Iowa and much of the eastern Midwest has helped improve soil moisture conditions heading into the growing season, but USDA Chief Meteorologist Brad Rippey says many areas farther west continue battling intensifying drought conditions.
Speaking during a discussion in Washington, D.C., Rippey said drought still covers nearly two-thirds of the United States, with some of the worst conditions stretching across the Plains, the South, and parts of the western U.S.
Rippey, who authors the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor and contributes weather analysis to USDA’s monthly WASDE report, said Iowa and much of the Midwest have recently seen improving conditions compared to areas farther west.
Rippey says drought coverage remains widespread across the country, while conditions in portions of the Midwest have improved.
He said drought conditions have worsened significantly since the beginning of the year across the Southeast, the Central Great Plains, and much of the western United States. Meanwhile, portions of the Midwest and Great Lakes region have trended wetter during the spring.
Rippey also warned current drought coverage is approaching levels not seen since the historic drought of 2012.
Rippey compares current drought coverage to some of the highest levels recorded since the U.S. Drought Monitor began in 1999.
Looking ahead, Rippey said forecasters are increasingly monitoring signs of a developing El Niño pattern in the Pacific Ocean. While the shift could eventually help ease drought conditions in some areas, he cautioned that the impacts may not arrive quickly enough to significantly influence much of the 2026 growing season.
Rippey discusses the growing likelihood of El Niño conditions developing later this year.
Rippey said warming ocean temperatures around the globe continue influencing long-range weather forecasts, and weather conditions across the Plains and Midwest will remain a major focus as planting and crop development continue through the summer months.
