Drought deepens in KZRG listening area

The National Weather Service says the drought has gotten worse, with most of the KZRG listening area in “Extreme Drought”.

The NWS in Springfield says rainfall through the weekend could provide some relief, but is not expected to bring an end to the drought.

The combination of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation, along with increased evaporation has led to flash drought conditions, or a rapid onset of drought.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, over the past 30 days, precipitation has averaged between 0 and 25 percent of normal values in the extreme and severe drought areas.

Temperatures have averaged two to four degrees above normal over the extreme and severe drought areas, and one to two degrees above normal over the rest of the area.

Soil moisture in the top several inches of the ground remains below 10 percent over much of the region. Stream flows across the region have also begun to show impacts with multiple rivers and stream at or below low flow levels.