Drought continues to plague Nebraska

High temperatures and winds are scorching a good portion of western Nebraska's winter wheat crop and pastures, while the eastern half of the state needs to continue getting timely spring rains to avoid going back into a drought, said Al Dutcher, state climatologist at UNL.

"The wheat looks horrible, and pasture ground is bare," Dutcher said of a recent trip to Imperial.

Long-term forecasts don't offer any indication whether or not precipitation will be above or below normal for June, July and August, he said. However, forecasts no longer call for above normal temperatures.

Although the current U.S. Drought Monitor puts a good portion of eastern and north central Nebraska out of the drought, Dutcher said these areas have not been getting significant moisture and are abnormally dry.

Dutcher said thunderstorms are in the forecast through today (May 23), with a slight chance during the later half of Memorial Day weekend. Models point to a more aggressive precipitation pattern during the first week of June, he said.

"As for the winter wheat crop in southwest, west central and the Panhandle, if those areas don't get significant rainfall during the next seven to 14 days, we will see significant, if not total yield losses," he said.

Dutcher said the soil moisture profiles in eastern Nebraska are within an inch to an inch and a half of normal. In western Nebraska, they're pretty much depleted.

"But if eastern Nebraska gets an inch or more rainfall over the next week, a lot of short-term concerns will be alleviated," he said. "However, once it goes dry again, we'll be revisiting these same issues in a couple of weeks."

Meantime, the above average snowpack in the Rockies last winter and this spring has been depleted. Although snowpack was above normal through March, snow came to a halt in April.

"The lack of significant snowfall during that period, along with temperatures rising above normal led to earlier melt and a decrease in stream flows," he said.

The latest Platte River Valley stream flow projections for June through August are for 75-85% of normal projections issued at the beginning of March.

"Right now it basically boils down to if Mother Nature will provide compensation with rainfall," he said. "Last year that happened and western Nebraska had very good growing season precipitation. We hope that happens again."