Kansas Soil Moisture Update – October 7, 2026
A third straight week of widespread rainfall pushed soil moisture higher across most of Kansas during September 30 – October 7, with the largest gains in western and central Kansas. The statewide average fraction of plant available water (FAW) in the top 2 feet (60 cm) of the soil profile climbed from 0.57 to 0.71, and the area below the water-stress threshold fell to 18%. Greeley, Wichita, and Hamilton counties are the wettest (FAW of 0.92–0.93), while Cowley, Linn, and Wilson counties reported the lowest county averages (FAW of 0.27–0.35).
Understanding Plant Available Water and FAW
Plant available water is the portion of soil moisture that plants can use. It is the water held between the wilting point and field capacity. The maps show the fraction of available water (FAW) in the top 2 feet (60 cm) of the soil profile on a scale from 0 to 1. A value of 0 means that any existing water is tightly held in the soil and generally not available to plants. A value of 1 means the soil holds its full supply of plant available water after excess water has drained away. A value of 0.5 means about half the plant available water remains, a level at which many crops may begin to experience water stress. Because each mapped location is scaled to its own wilting point and field capacity, the same color represents the same fraction of available water statewide, allowing comparisons across different soil textures.
About the Kansas Soil Moisture Update
The Kansas Soil Moisture Update will provide regular snapshots of soil water conditions across the state under rainfed conditions, particularly when soil moisture can influence crop and field management decisions. The maps are developed by the Soil Water Processes Laboratory in K-State’s Department of Agronomy under the direction of Dr. Andres Patrignani and use Kansas Mesonet observations. Interactive daily maps are also available from the Soil Water Processes Laboratory at soilwater.github.io/Kansas-1km
Andres Patrignani, Associate Professor in Soil Water Processes
andrespatrignani@ksu.edu