LINCOLN — Nebraska’s latest drought report presents a mixed picture, with drought covering more of the state while the most intense categories decreased.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday, July 16, shows 73.9% of Nebraska in moderate drought or worse. When the 15.5% of the state classified as abnormally dry is included, nearly 90% of Nebraska is experiencing some level of dryness. The data was valid as of Tuesday, July 14.
The only local change was a minor reduction of extreme drought, D3, conditions in a western pocket in Custer County, which was reduced to severe drought, D2, conditions.
Severe drought is the largest category, covering 36.7% of the state. Extreme drought covers 21.2%, moderate drought covers 13.2%, and exceptional drought — the monitor’s most intense designation — covers 2.9%.
Compared with the July 7 report, the total area in drought increased from approximately 71% to nearly 74%. Moderate drought increased from 8.6% to 13.2%, while severe drought expanded from 34.2% to 36.7%. However, extreme drought declined from 23.7% to 21.2%, and exceptional drought dropped from 4.3% to 2.9%.
The regional Drought Monitor summary noted that more than two inches of rain fell in portions of south-central Nebraska and areas farther southeast during the monitoring period. Localized improvements were also reported in western Nebraska, although drought remains widespread across much of the state.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is released each Thursday and is produced through a partnership involving the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the USDA, NOAA, and NASA.