Drought Information Statement for the Quad State Region Valid October 2, 2025 Issued By: WFO Paducah, Kentucky Contact Information: nws.paducah@noaa.gov This product will be updated if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/pah/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Widespread rain last week has helped ease, but not eliminate the ongoing drought conditions. Drier than normal conditions are favored for the month of October, so widespread severe drought may return in the coming weeks. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Beneficial rainfall ranging from 1 to 5” last week has resulted in one category improvement across much of our region. Drought intensity and Extent D3 (Extreme Drought): Has been removed from our area. D2 (Severe Drought): Only small portions of southern IL, and southern parts of southeast MO and west KY remain. (25% of our area is in D2 drought) D1 (Moderate Drought): A large part of the region remains in at least D1 drought (76% coverage). D0: (Abnormally Dry): Covers much of southwest IN, northwest KY, an a small sliver of southeast IL. (96% of area is in at least D0). Recent Change in Drought Intensity One Week Drought Monitor Class Change Drought Improved: Much of the region saw a 1 category improvement in this week’s outlook, particularly areas south and east of a line from Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau, MO to Harrisburg and Mount Carmel, IL. Drought Worsened: None Precipitation Most of the region received anywhere from 1 to 5” of rain last week. However, it has been completely dry since September 26th (past 7 days) Temperature Temperatures averaged above normal for the month of September. The period from the 11th through 20th was particularly warm, with highs in the 90s and even a few record highs. Summary of Impacts 7 day streamflows, according to USGS data, are mostly near or above normal (50-75th percentile) across the region. Agricultural Impacts Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMORs) have dropped off after the rain last week. However, there have still been reports of poor crop yields along with supplemental feeding of livestock. Fire Hazard Impacts No burn bans are currently in effect. Other Impacts There have been reports of low farm pond levels and instances of leaves turning color and starting to drop. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts The rain last week resulted in some rivers rising slightly but the general trend of river levels falling since the beginning of August remains. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts The rain last week resulted in some rivers rising slightly but the general trend of river levels falling since the beginning of August remains. Agricultural Impacts Soil moisture has remained fairly steady over the past week, with only some dryness noted over the lower Ohio Valley. The most pronounced dryness is over our northwest counties in IL/MO (Perryville to Mount Vernon corridor), as they didn’t receive as much rain as the rest of the region. Fire Hazard Impacts The rain we received this past week has lifted the burn bans in all counties. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Next rain chance arrives early next week. Current forecast has amounts ranging from 0.25” to 0.75” across the region. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Long range trends favor above normal temperatures in October. A lean towards drier than normal conditions is also favored. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought is expected to linger through the next month. The rain this past week helped, but we may go right back into a prolonged dry period which could lead to worsening drought in parts of the area in October.