Drought Information Statement for 
SE SD, SW MN, NW IA, Far NE Neb 
Valid May 22, 2025
Issued By: WFO Sioux Falls, SD
Contact Information: w-fsd.webmaster@noaa.gov
This product will be updated by the end of May or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.  
Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/fsd/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates.
RECENT RAINFALL HAS RESULTED IN DROUGHT IMPROVEMENT, HOWEVER WIDESPREAD ABNORMALLY DRY (D0) TO MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION 


LONG RANGE OUTLOOKS FAVOR DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSISTING
1

U.S. Drought Monitor
Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for SE South Dakota, SW Minnesota, NW Iowa, far NE Nebraska
…WIDESPREAD DRYNESS TO DROUGHT REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION…

Drought Intensity and Extent

D1 (Moderate Drought): Portions of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota and northeast Nebraska
D0 (Abnormally Dry): Remaining areas not in Moderate or Severe drought

Precipitation - Past 30 Days
Beneficial moisture fell during May, although this timeframe is also climatologically a wetter period and thus didn’t make significant improvements into the longer term deficits.

Precipitation deficits over the entire water year (since October 1st) still reflect fairly significant deficits.

    Water Year Precip
          (October 1st-May 21st)

Sioux Falls: 9.06” (-3.63”)
Mitchell: 7.49” (-1.97”)
Sioux City: 10.63” (-2.43”)
Huron: 8.33” (-2.19”)

Summary of Impacts.
Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter
Hydrologic Impacts 
River and stream levels remain at or below normal with portions of the lower Big Sioux, Rock, and Floyd River basins well below normal.

Agricultural Impacts
Some isolated reports of stalled crop growth but no other reported impacts at this time

Fire Hazard Impacts
Vegetation green-up has largely ended the spring fire season although numerous critical fire weather days were observed earlier in the month. 

Other Impacts
There are no reported impacts at this time

Mitigation Actions
None reported 

Agricultural and Soil Moisture Impacts
SD
As of May 18th
Very Short Moisture
Short Moisture
Adequate Moisture
Moisture Surplus
Topsoil
10%
35%
50%
5%
Subsoil
19%
38%
42%
1%
IA
As of May 18th
Very Short Moisture
Short Moisture
Adequate Moisture
Moisture Surplus
Topsoil
8%
37%
53%
2%
Subsoil
6%
34%
58%
2%
MN
As of Apr 13th
Very Short Moisture
Short Moisture
Adequate Moisture
Moisture Surplus
Topsoil
6%
25%
64%
5%
Subsoil
6%
27%
64%
3%
USDA Crop Progress and Condition Reports
South Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska

Medium and Long-Range Outlooks
The latest medium range and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
Temperature
Precipitation
Outlooks through the end of May favor several precipitation chances, especially over the next week, however areawide comparisons to normal may trend near or drier than normal. Temperatures are favored to trend near or above normal. 
Medium Range Outlook
Outlooks through into the summer months favor both above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation, resulting in concern for persisting drought conditions despite the recent rainfall. 
Seasonal Outlook

Drought Outlook.
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
Some recent drought improvement but widespread drought conditions continue across the region. 

Despite recent rainfall, longer term precipitation deficits continue and recent rainfall generally falls within line of what is expected this time of year. Long term outlooks continue to favor conditions favorable for drought persistence. 

The latest drought-related information can be found at: weather.gov/fsd/drought
The drought monitor is a multi-agency effort involving NOAA’s National Weather Service and National Climatic Data Center, the USDA, state and regional center climatologists and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Information for this statement has been gathered from NWS and FAA observation sites, cooperative and volunteer observations, USDAFS, the USDA and USGS.
Acknowledgements