News

Midwest drought subsiding slightly

A climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center says drought conditions in the Corn Belt have recovered somewhat over the winter.

Brian Fuchs points to eastern states like Indiana and Ohio.

“Over the short term, they’ve done pretty well, but there are still some lingering longer term drought signals that are lying in wait,” he shares.

He tells Brownfield, “Most of the eastern to central Corn Belt is looking for some drought improvement or even drought elimination through the end of May.”

“But I think the further West you go, and especially West and South in the plains, drought’s definitely going to be impacting us at least through the middle to later parts of spring,” he says.

This week’s report says more than 67 percent of the Midwest is experiencing some kind of drought conditions, a 10 percent improvement from the same time last year.

Drought in the High Plains has intensified by more than 30 percent compared to a year ago.