Update on Drought Conditions in the High Plains Region - December 18, 2014

Much-needed rainfall occurred across the Central Plains earlier this week, bringing drought relief to areas of northwestern and eastern Kansas. Approximately three-quarters inch to 1 inch of rain fell on unfrozen ground, allowing it to soak in and improve conditions. There were both severe drought (D2) and moderate drought (D1) improvements in northwestern Kansas, and just a very slight improvement of abnormally dry conditions (D0) in Nebraska.

It is expected that next week will be fairly dry, with the exception of part of the Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming. The eastern portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas have slightly better chances for higher rainfall than the western portions of those states.

Due to the holiday shutdown at UNL, there will not be a drought update for the next 2 weeks. The next drought update will be issued Thursday, January 8th. Please click on the U.S. Drought Monitor link below to view maps and narratives for the next two weeks, as the new maps become available.

To learn more about the U.S. Drought Monitor, please see: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu

To see the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, please see the Climate Prediction Center here:http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.html

To see the areas of agriculture affected by the drought, please see the USDA link: http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/Drought/AgInDrought.pdf

To see the impacts of the drought, please see the Drought Impact Reporter here: http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

Check out the table below for the drought conditions over the past 2 months for the High Plains Region.

To view statistics of the High Plains Region and each state check out the Regional Statistics here: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx

  Drought Condition (Percent Area): High Plains Region