Drought, Bollinger
- When
- April 14, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Bollinger forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Missouri, April 14 to 30, 2026
A record dry winter in Southeast Missouri led to dry conditions heading into April from Bollinger to Mississippi Counties. A very warm April, with temperatures running 7-8 degrees F above normal, and especially a soil moisture ranking near the 1st percentile, resulted in intensification of drought through April.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
A record dry winter in Southeast Missouri led to dry conditions heading into April from Bollinger to Mississippi Counties. A very warm April, with temperatures running 7-8 degrees F above normal, and especially a soil moisture ranking near the 1st percentile, resulted in intensification of drought through April. Severe (D2) drought developed mid-month along that corridor, diminished some with heavy rain the following week, then expanded for the end of April with drought continuing into May. Agricultural impacts primarily took the form of earlier than normal planting and very low farm pond levels. Subsoil and topsoil conditions remained quite poor.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 14, 4:26 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Temperatures will approach or exceed records today and Wednesday and again on Friday. Both record high temperatures and record warm minimum temperatures are expected.
- Widespread showers and thunderstorms are likely (70-100%) Thursday morning and afternoon. Beneficial rainfall amounts of 0.50 to 1.0 inches are forecast.
- A cold front will bring another good chance (50-70%) of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. Rainfall amounts will be around 0.10 to 0.25 of an inch, with locally higher amounts possible.
- Temperatures will cool back to typical mid-April values Sunday and Monday.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 4:26 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Paducah KY 526 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Temperatures will approach or exceed records today and Wednesday and again on Friday. Both record high temperatures and record warm minimum temperatures are expected. - Widespread showers and thunderstorms are likely (70-100%) Thursday morning and afternoon. Beneficial rainfall amounts of 0.50 to 1.0 inches are forecast. - A cold front will bring another good chance (50-70%) of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. Rainfall amounts will be around 0.10 to 0.25 of an inch, with locally higher amounts possible. - Temperatures will cool back to typical mid-April values Sunday and Monday. && .UPDATE... Issued at 525 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 Updated Aviation discussion for the 12z TAF issuance. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1257 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 Stout H5 ridging over the southeast CONUS will keep the region very warm and mainly dry today into most of Wednesday. Cannot rule out a stray shower the far west and northwest parts of the forecast area. As temperatures at 850mb rise to 17-19C (around the 99th percentile), high temperatures today and Wednesday will climb into the middle to upper 80s, with overnight low temperatures only in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Both record high temperatures and record warm minimum temperatures are probable. Wednesday night into Thursday, numerous showers and thunderstorms will develop to our north and west ahead of an approaching frontal boundary. While the cold front will not quite make it into the area, the latest model guidance is indicating that an inverted trough will pass over the region Thursday, which will act to sustain the precipitation. As a result, rainfall totals have increased a bit from yesterday, now roughly 0.5-1.0" by Thursday evening. The timing and messy storm modes do not appear to be favorable for severe thunderstorms at this time. Friday will be see another day of near record warmth as the ridging briefly expands over the region. High temperatures will again reach the middle to upper 80s, and a few locations may reach 90 degrees. The ridge will begin to break down more significantly Saturday into next week, as troughing over the Upper Midwest dips southward into the area. A surface cold front will pass through the area Saturday afternoon and evening, bringing another good chance of showers and thunderstorms (too early to tell if this would pose a severe risk) and more beneficial light to moderate rain. Drier and seasonably mild conditions are forecast Sunday into early next week. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 525 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 Breezy S to SW winds will continue through the forecast period. The strongest winds will be between roughly 14-01z, when they will be sustained at 12-16 kts with gusts of 20-25 kts before relaxing tonight. Sky cover will be a mix of mid-level bases between 2500 and 5000ft (with cigs remaining VFR)this morning and afternoon and high cirrus tonight. && .CLIMATE... Issued at 1257 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 Record high temperatures for today and Wednesday: PAH: 87 (2006) | 88 (1977) EVV: 86 (2010) | 86 (2024) CGI: 86 (1992) | 87 (1992) POF: 89 (1929) | 88 (1936) MDH: 85 (2010) | 87 (2024) && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...None. MO...None. IN...None. KY...None. && UPDATE...DWS DISCUSSION...DWS AVIATION...DWS CLIMATE...DWS
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 14, 1:59 AM CST, 4 hours 1 minute before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Paducah KY 259 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-150800- Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton-White- Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-Johnson-Pope-Hardin- Alexander-Pulaski-Massac-Gibson-Pike-Posey-Vanderburgh-Warrick- Spencer-Fulton-Hickman-Carlisle-Ballard-McCracken-Graves-Livingston- Marshall-Calloway-Crittenden-Lyon-Trigg-Caldwell-Union KY-Webster- Hopkins-Christian-Henderson-Daviess-McLean-Muhlenberg-Todd-Perry MO- Bollinger-Cape Girardeau-Wayne MO-Carter-Ripley-Butler-Stoddard- Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid- 259 AM CDT Tue Apr 14 2026 /359 AM EDT Tue Apr 14 2026/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Chances for widespread showers and thunderstorms return to the forecast late Wednesday night into Thursday morning and again Saturday afternoon and evening. An isolated strong or severe thunderstorm is possible Thursday, but confidence is low at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. DWS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Cape Girardeau
- When
- April 14, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Cape Girardeau forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Scott
- When
- April 14, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Mississippi
- When
- April 14, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Mississippi forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 14, 2026
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, April 14, 2026
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 14 to 15, 2026
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Michigan, April 14 to 15, 2026
- Hail in Iowa, April 14, 2026
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Iowa, April 14, 2026
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 14 to 15, 2026
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Missouri, April 14 to 16, 2026
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Ohio, April 14, 2026
- Flood and Hail in Oklahoma, April 14 to 15, 2026
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, April 14 to 16, 2026
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, April 14, 2026
More
Every storm in Missouri in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, April 2026
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1330854, 1330855, 1330856, 1330857.