While moderate to exceptional drought conditions exist over 48 percent of the contiguous U.S., drought conditions have eased over Northern Colorado and most of Nebraska according to a report from the National Integrated Drought Information System.
Current weather and drought conditions and predictions for the coming summer were released on May 14 as part of the Drought Outlook, a compilation of weather, water and agriculture metrics collected from various government agencies and spearheaded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But easing of the drought could be short lived. NOAA is predicting higher than normal summer temperatures for most of Colorado and below normal precipitation for Colorado east of the Continental Divide. Fire potential for Northern Colorado is predicted to be normal.
The report also indicated that national pasture and rangeland conditions are the worst on record for this time of year.
The full report is available at www.drought.gov/drought/news/summer-2013-national-drought-outlook.
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