The lack of snow this past winter and limited rainfall this spring have created severe drought in the state for the first time in a year-and-a-half. The U.S. Drought Monitor Index released last Thursday shows drought conditions continue to worsen across South Dakota. More than 77 per cent of South Dakota is in moderate or severe drought, an increase from 69 per cent from the previous week.
State climatologist Dennis Todey says models show different areas could get one to two inches of rain this week, but not enough to fix things. "It'll only to move us down the road a little bit," he says. "We have soils that are several inches short of moisture at this point, and what is really critical throughout the growing season is having moisture in the soil so the crops can take advantage of that moisture during the dry times of year and carry them through dry periods."
Todey joined Dakota Midday and discussed the latest drought report and the outlook for the next few months.