Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signs a proclamation approving updated drought declarations for Kansas counties.

 

The drought declaration added 51 counties into watch status and placed 47 into warning and 7 into emergency status. This action was recommended by Connie Owen, Director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. The most extreme dry conditions continue to persist in the northwest ans southwest corners of the state, with the counties of Cheyenne, Decatur, Morton, Norton, Phillips, Rawlins, and Stevens listed as a drought emergency. Most of the remaining counties west of Wichita remain under a drought warning. 

 

Owen stated: “ “Recent rainfall has helped in some areas, but drought is far from over in Kansas. Conditions range from crop stress and elevated fire danger to growing water supply concerns. In the hardest-hit areas, we are seeing significant agricultural losses and extreme rangeland fire risk. It is important to monitor conditions and be mindful of water usage as drought impacts evolve.”

 

Spring rains in the eastern portions of the state mean counties in southeast Kansas are in the drought watch category. These counties include Allen, Bourbon,Chautauqua, Cherokee, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties.

 

The updated declaration covers the following counties:

 

Drought Emergency: Cheyenne, Decatur, Morton, Norton, Phillips, Rawlins, Stevens.

 

Drought Warning: Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Ness, Osborne, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Wichita.

 

Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harper, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Republic, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.

 

For more information, follow this link.