Is Drought A Possibility For The Summer?

Cracks in the soil and dried up crops are something many in KELOLAND hope to keep as a distant memory.

Last year's drought was one of the worst on record for our area. But state climatologist Dennis Todey says we are already off to a different start.

"Certainly March last year did throw things off. We were so warm early that we started a lot of growth early perennials and they started using water much earlier than that," Todey said.

This March though, we have seen the snow and even some rain. But according to Todey, it is still too early to tell what we will have for summer.

"If we take a look at March, April, May as a whole, that does give us a bit of a lead on summer. If you are cool and wet during the spring that does give us a slightly better chance of being cooler and wetter in the summer," Todey said.

But, at the same time, our reserves of water in the soil are gone from last year's drought. So, if we don't get moisture, it could get bad fast.

"If we were to get a drought like we did last year, it would be particularly ugly. But we don't expect to see that happen," Todey said.

Todey says he expects rain; the rain though, won’t help as much until our soil thaws.  And even with the rain it still leaves the question, will it be the drought buster we have all been hoping for?

"I expect us to recover some. I don't expect us to completely recover," Todey said.

Todey says the best indicator for us is going to be once we reach May looking back at both April and March. But until then, he says we are off to a promising start.