No changes to Nebraska’s drought status

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The latest drought monitor was released Thursday and there’s good news and bad news with the outlook. The good news is that drought conditions have not worsened. The bad news is that nothing has improved either. This week’s latest report has no change in our drought status across the state with the entire state under some level of drought.

Drought monitor as of 12/1/22 — Drought monitor as of 12/1/22(KOLN)

There was no change in our drought status from last week. — There was no change in our drought status from last week.(KOLN)

The worst drought conditions continue to remain across parts of northern and western Nebraska, where extreme and exceptional drought conditions persist. Southern and southeastern parts of the state are still under moderate to severe drought conditions. The nearly 20% of the state under exceptional drought is the highest its been for nearly 10 years. The last time you’ll find a higher percentage of the state under exceptional drought was back in late March and early April of 2013 when we were coming out of the flash drought that dominated the summer and fall of 2012.

Drought conditions have continued to worsen over much of the last year, particularly over the last several months as many areas experienced a very dry summer and fall.

Drought has continued to worsen across the state over the last few months. — Drought has continued to worsen across the state over the last few months.(KOLN)

As we begin the winter months, we also begin our driest time of year. Drought conditions will persist into the next several months but any worsening or improvement in our drought conditions will likely come very slowly.

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