Much of central and south central Kansas continues to experience moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the latest information from the National Weather Service.
Parts of Reno, Kingman, Harvey and Sedgwick counties are under a severe drought, with crop or pasture losses likely, water shortages common and water restrictions in effect. The City of Wichita is moving to Stage Two of its drought response plan starting Monday, August 5th, with mandatory restrictions on outdoor watering.
The Weather Service said temperatures during July were mostly near to slightly below average, while precipitation was mostly below average. It was the driest July since 2012 for Newton, Chanute and Independence. Year-to-date precipitation has been mostly near to above average, but it has been below average for central, south central and southeast Kansas.
Wichita has had its driest year to date since 2011. Wichita’s Eisenhower National Airport reported 2.57 inches of rain for July, which is almost an inch and a half below average. For the year so far, the rainfall total has been 15.09 inches, which is almost six and a half inches below average.
Areas of drought improvement were reported across mainly central and southwest Kansas during the past 4 to 8 weeks, with large areas of drought degradation across the state.
A transition to a La Niña weather pattern is expected for late summer into the fall. La Niña sometimes favors warmer and drier conditions during the summer and fall across the Kansas region.
