Recent moisture good to see but offers little in way of drought relief

Much needed rain fell in the county last week bringing some relief to drought-stressed fields, but not enough to make any significant impact. According to official weather recorder Mike Prellwitz, Hebron received .32 of an inch of rain a week ago.

Most of the state is expected to stay in extreme drought conditions as the NWS Climate Prediction Center predicts a persistent drought for the entire state in its seasonal outlook through March. The prediction, released Jan. 3, shows a wide swath of states from Texas north through South Dakota and Southern California east through Iowa to continue with persistent drought.

Thayer County is in extreme drought with a small area along the Kansas border considered to be severe drought. Most of the state is tagged as being in exceptional drought.

The federal government released its final crop report for 2012 last Friday noting exceptional losses caused by the drought. It is the worst drought the U.S. has experienced since the 1950s, and the crop report indicated the harvest was 27 percent less than the Department of Agriculture’s initial estimate, even though the harvest was one of the largest in U.S. history.

Improved crop technology and irrigation account for better growing conditions even in drought.

Locally, no precipitation is expected for the next ten days, according to the National Weather Service.