Just 20 miles away there appeared to be a monsoon. You could see the rain clouds just to the north, still not every location in Missouri received rain this weekend. However, the rain was a blessing for those areas that did because crops across the state needed a drink.

The USDA Crop Progress Report showed average topsoil moisture across the state last week rated 13% very short and 38% short. Some counties in the far northeastern portion of the state were in the a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Fields in east central Missouri were not at that point, but they were especially dry with 20% of the fields reported very short and 49% reported short.

TASSELING: Crops in some locations of Missouri are already tasseling.

Where the corn leaves are not rolling due to stress, the corn is progressing. Many corn plants are tasseling across the state and some even further along. Already 20% of the corn acres reached corn silking, that is 16 percentage points ahead of last year, according to the Crop Progress Report, and 8 points ahead of the 5-year average. And for the most part, the corn crop still looks good across the state, with farmers reporting 63% of the crop in good or excellent condition.

It has been a hot summer so far. According to the report, last week the average temperature across the state was 81.1 degrees F. However, I know in southern Warren County, we saw at least five straight days of above 93-degree temperatures.

The hot weather and the lack of moisture has University of Missouri Extension climatologist Pat Guinan urging Missourians to report the impact of drought in their areas to the Drought Impact Reporter (DIR) at droughtreporter.unl.edu.

The National Drought Mitigation Center works to inform the public about drought planning, mitigation and response, he says. It also helps decision-makers identify and reduce vulnerability to drought.

Input from citizens statewide helps decision-makers gain a more complete and accurate portrayal of the location and severity of drought in each state and region. "Nobody knows a drought better than the person living in it," Guinan says.

Examples of drought impact include crop and forage damage; livestock stress; low water in streams, ponds, lakes or public water supplies; and burn bans or water restrictions set by public officials.

"We, including me, do not determine drought categories for Missouri," Guinan says. "But we all can provide suggestions, recommendations and impact information on what is happening in our state to the Drought Monitor authors." Authors review reported data and use their best judgment to create the drought map.

The DIR online tool makes it easy for private citizens to report conditions, says Guinan. The drought reports are available to the public and are archived for future use. Reports and impacts are mapped separately.

To submit a DIR report, go to droughtreporter.unl.edu and click on the "Submit a Report" tab at the top of the page.