Drought Persists in U.S. Plains; Slight Improvement in Midwest

January 3, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleCommentsSnowfall in parts of the U.S. Plains last week had little impact on historic drought gripping the region, but parts of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin showed slight improvement, weather experts said.

A weekly report issued Thursday by a consortium of federal and state climatology experts said that as of Jan. 1, 42.05 percent of the contiguous United States was in severe to exceptional drought, down from 42.45 percent the previous week.

Parts of the central Plains received snow in the last week, providing some much-needed protection for the region’s dormant winter wheat crop before temperatures plunged at the end of December.

However, the snow was insufficient and did not offer much drought relief, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report.

View the Original article