Drought conditions in Kansas are increasing again after a relatively wet fall had brought some relief to the Sunflower State.
About 95 percent of Kansas was abnormal as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and about 47 percent was in at least moderate drought. Only the southeast corner of the state was classified as having a normal level of moisture.
The last time when more than half of the state had normal levels of moisture was Nov. 12. The U.S. Drought Monitor releases a weekly report on general conditions. Before that, the last time the majority of Kansas had normal levels of moisture had been May 15, 2012.
Shawnee County and most of the eastern half of Kansas was classified as abnormally dry, but not yet in drought. That is the classification the drought monitor uses for areas entering or leaving a drought, where dryness is having some effect on crops and pastures.
Conditions generally worsened as you moved west in Kansas, with about 13 percent of the state in moderate drought, meaning there may be some damage to crops and water sources are low; 28 percent in severe drought, meaning water shortages are common and loss of crops is likely; and 5 percent in extreme drought, meaning water shortages are widespread and the area has experienced major crop losses.
Though most of the state is still too dry, the worst-hit areas have seen some relief. No part of Kansas has been listed as in exceptional drought — the most severe category — since Sept. 10. Drought conditions appeared to peak between November 2012 and February 2013, when at least one-third of the state was in exceptional drought for 14 straight weeks.
The National Weather Service isn’t predicting any significant chance of precipitation in the Topeka area or most of Kansas for the next seven days, though the Dodge City area has a 20 percent chance of snow Monday.
Source - http://cjonline.com/
