Launch Catch-Up — Drought Assessment Released October 22, 2026
Rain improved short-term drought in the Southern Plains, but substantial longer-term precipitation deficits remained, according to an October 22 update from the National Integrated Drought Information System.
The assessment covers Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and uses information available through October 20. Its conditions and outlook should not be read as a new October 26 measurement.
The agency said drought covered 84% of the region at the end of September, the largest share since 2022. Record September heat increased stress before late-September and early-October rain brought relief.
The report distinguishes a wet spell from full recovery after a dry summer. It says longer-term deficits remained even where recent precipitation improved surface conditions.
For winter, the assessment favors above-normal precipitation and expects El Niño to help drought recovery across much of the region. It also identifies lower confidence for southern Texas, where some model forecasts point toward dryness despite the official wetter outlook.
Those projections describe probabilities, rather than a guarantee that drought will disappear. This report summarizes the dated federal assessment, not a location-specific forecast for today.
Sources: NIDIS — Southern Plains drought update, October 22: https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/drought-status-update-southern-plains-2026-10-22