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Drought widens across the Plains

A climatologist says moderate drought has expanded across the Plains.

Brian Fuchs with the National Drought Mitigation Center says scattered rains and extreme heat has dried out soils in recent weeks.

“For those folks that are irrigating there, you’re probably seeing the first really widespread applications of water this year,” he says. “We’ve been pretty quiet on the irrigation side for those that are able to utilize that.”

Kansas saw the biggest expansion in the latest drought monitor with 36% of the state now seeing moderate to severe drought. Fuchs says crops planted earlier weren’t forced into deeper rooting systems and that could create some challenges.

“Right now, some of those crops could get stressed, because they don’t have the proper rooting systems, and they’re gonna be forced to shoot some roots down a little bit deeper,” he says. “That’s going to take away some energy from those plants.”

He says the dry pattern will continue, but an active monsoon season in the southwest could be a factor in the coming weeks.

Moderate to severe drought also has expanded in western Nebraska, South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.

AUDIO: Climatologist Brian Fuchs, National Drought Mitigation Center