Drought map of Missouri as of Jan. 6, 2026 (The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.)

The next two days of rain and possibly wintry precipitation could bring some much-needed moisture across most of Missouri.

Rain began falling Thursday, Jan. 8, just as the weekly update was posted from the U.S. Drought Monitor that showed 57.54 percent of Missouri in moderate or severe drought, and another 37.75 percent in abnormal dryness. The only areas of Missouri reporting normal or excess moisture this week are in our area, including most of Caldwell, Chariton, Grundy and Livingston counties, along with eastern Saline, northern Carroll, southwestern Sullivan, and the western halves of Howard, Linn and Randolph counties. Among the areas in moderate drought this week are a majority of Johnson and Lafayette counties, while three patches of severe drought are present further south of the Missouri River.

The National Weather Service’s forecast as of Thursday morning is calling for up to an inch of rain across Saline County and surrounding areas, along with the chance of snow flurries late Friday night into most of Saturday.

The weekly update to the U.S. Drought Monitor, compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, is released each Thursday morning and based on conditions as of the previous Tuesday.