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Drought worsens in Nebraska

National Drought Mitigation Center
The latest drought monitor report shows most of Nebraska is in a severe drought.

75 percent of Nebraska is now in a severe to extreme drought.

That’s according to the latest U.S. drought monitor report. It’s updated every Tuesday and was released Thursday morning. Eastern and southeast Nebraska are in a severe drought, with parts of central Nebraska are in exceptional drought conditions.

State Climatologist Al Dutcher says the hot, dry conditions will likely reduce the corn yield by 30 to 50 percent. “If you go out there across the country you’ll notice the corn is pretty bad here in Nebraska as well as other parts of the  country, and it’s really a combination of a lack of precipitation and this unbelievable heat that we’ve been going through. And unfortunately, I don’t know as if we can do a lot for this corn crop.”

Dutcher doesn’t believe Wednesday’s rain will change the next drought monitor report. He says next week’s report could show more of eastern Nebraska in an extreme drought.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a collaboration of the USDA, the National Drought Mitigation Center, and the National Weather Service.