West Remains Abnormally Dry For Fall

It's not just dry in the Inland Northwest.  USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said up and down the west, there's no sign of relief from fall-time dryness.  He says typically this time of year we would see rains rolling in from the Pacific, offering up showers and snow.  But this year, not so much.

A lot of California does remain unfavorably dry. If we were to see high winds return certainly the wildfire threat could return as well so we still need that wetting rain, something to tamp down the wild fire threat across California," Rippey said.

California top soils are rated short to very short over 75% of the state.  And it's not just the west that's dry, "which is what's affecting the wheat health in states like Kansas and southward in to parts of Texas."

Last week at least 40% of top soils in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado are reported short to very short of moisture.

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