Rain arrives but drought persists

The rains of spring have arrived, bringing several days of overcast weather and a significant green-up to the Sundance area. But contrary to how things may appear, the U.S. Drought Monitor has yet to lift the warnings of severe drought in Crook County.

At this time, approximately two thirds of the county still remains within the severe drought rating. The northeastern and southwestern corners are listed as within moderate drought conditions.

In positive news for this region, moderate precipitation over recent days has improved the situation in Wyoming in the Big Horn Basin area. Across the rest of the High Plains, widespread precipitation saw significant drought reductions in the Dakotas as well as Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas.

However, over the last 30 days, the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) reports that most of Crook County only received between 0% and 25% of normal precipitation levels. The northeastern corner received between 75% and 100%, but no part of the county received an excess of normal levels.

NIDIS predicts that drought conditions will persist across the whole county for at least the next month, and likely for the rest of this season.