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Big Picture On Kansas Drought

by Cliff Judy (WICHITA, Kan.)

Months pass with less than an inch of moisture.  It's reality for parts of Kansas as the entire staet goes through drought.

Farmers in Sedgwick County say their wheat crop is okay right now, but they'll need rain soon.  Farther west, the drought is a bigger problem.  Dodge City only had half an inch of rain and snow in the last four months.

"We're faring okay," says Jeff Winter, a farmer in Sedgwick County.  "We need rain.  If we don't get it pretty soon, things are going to kind of start going backwards."

Storm Team 12 Meteorologist Mark Larson points out long-term predictions are hard to make, but the National Center for Environmental Prediction is already saying the majority of Kansas has a 33%-50% chance of the current mini-drought continuing.

"Their outlook right now would be for below-average moisture for the entire month of March," says Larson, "and that would be for Kansas all the way down through Oklahoma and Texas."

Still, Larson points out that can all change in a matter of days.  Mother Nature is rarely boring or predictable in March.

Another problem with no moisture has been a rise in fire danger.  Just last week, Pratt County saw a large grass fire that burned a dozen vehicles and threatened businesses.

Several Kansas counties already have burn bans in effect, including Butler, Harvey, Kingman, Ford, Reno, Saline and Marion.

Boaters and park lovers need not fear, however.  Many popular Kansas lakes are at their normal water level.