The Corn Belt in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois is expected to be the hardest hit area, forecasters said. Drought forecast Drought outlook for summer 2000. Despite what appears to be a damp spring so far, the rain has provided little relief. Heavy rain the weekend of May 6 caused floods in parts of Missouri and Oklahoma, but the ground absorbed little of the rain, which ran off into rivers and drainage systems. Warmer temperatures coupled with below normal precipitation will deplete the already low water and soil moisture supplies even more.
Drought continues to plague southeastern New Mexico, and other parts of the state are also dry.
This has helped wildfires grow. Since January 1, more that 250,000 acres have been burned with fires such as the one in Los Alamos still raging. Relief isn t likely until normal monsoon rain begins in July.