Nebraska Drought

MJ Author

02/16/2022 Added

20 Plays

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Snowblowers are gathering dust in the garage this year. But, while we may be enjoying the warmer winter, the lack of precipitation could is bringing drought to much of the state. In this report, we hear from two climate experts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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[00:00:00.062](gentle music)
[00:00:01.430]Warm windy days
[00:00:02.740]and a lack of precipitation adds up to drought.
[00:00:06.156]We definitely have seen more drought develop
[00:00:08.680]and spread throughout the state.
[00:00:10.370]Brian Fuchs is a climatologist with UNL's
[00:00:13.190]national drought mitigation center,
[00:00:15.240]gathering and sharing data from all
[00:00:17.440]over the country to help manage drought.
[00:00:19.980]In Nebraska, that data is dry.
[00:00:22.790]74.19% of the state of Nebraska is in drought right now.
[00:00:28.160]And when we start looking at the darker orange,
[00:00:30.540]that severe drought that we have just over 14% of the state
[00:00:34.430]in severe drought in the southwest,
[00:00:36.120]the west and a little bit in the north central.
[00:00:38.540]State climatologist Martha Shulski says
[00:00:41.140]Nebraska is in a La Nina weather pattern,
[00:00:43.660]bringing warmer, drier conditions.
[00:00:46.210]Fall was very dry.
[00:00:47.600]December was the warmest on record.
[00:00:51.290]The state climate office
[00:00:52.540]tracks climate changes and collects data.
[00:00:55.170]So we are essentially a climate help desk.
[00:00:57.750]And so we deal
[00:00:58.583]with all scales of climate, past, present, and future.
[00:01:01.580]We also run a weather network throughout Nebraska.
[00:01:03.870]So we have 60 real time weather observing stations
[00:01:07.060]throughout the state.
[00:01:08.470]Drought monitoring and mitigation helps state
[00:01:10.740]and local governments balance water needs
[00:01:12.850]for recreation, conservation, and egg production.
[00:01:16.280]For example,
[00:01:17.113]soil moisture data helps farmers make decisions
[00:01:20.150]come planting time.
[00:01:21.880]They see a year like this year,
[00:01:23.240]where we are anticipating drought conditions,
[00:01:27.330]and we're already seeing them
[00:01:28.540]that maybe they're gonna have some
[00:01:30.340]less water intensive crops that they're planning.
[00:01:33.427]The climate outlook for Nebraska suggests
[00:01:36.688]drought could be here a while longer.
[00:01:38.450]Looking out further into the spring.
[00:01:41.596]The outlooks don't look great in terms of precipitation.
[00:01:45.220]So February, March, and April, that three month time period,
[00:01:48.210]the probabilities are highest for drier than normal.
[00:01:51.700]Nebraskans are hoping
[00:01:53.090]Mother Nature decides to turn on the tap.

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Nebraska Drought

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