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La Niña brings drought relief

An ag meteorologist says peak drought conditions across the U.S. have declined by more than 10 percent since the end of November.

Brad Rippey with USDA tells Brownfield typical La Niña weather patterns bring dry conditions but that’s not the case this year.  “Storms have been hitting a lot further south than what we expect with La Niña and as a result we have seen a lot of the U.S. drought affected areas including California, the central and southern Great Plains and the Southeast being hit at different times with heavy perception and drought relief.”

He says in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report California was declared about 42 percent drought-free which is a dramatic improvement.  “Once we start filling reservoirs in Southern California and start seeing ground water respond, then we might be able to declare this drought effectively over.”

Rippey says more moisture is still needed in the central and southern Great Plains to improve winter wheat fields and pastures and rangeland, but drought conditions have greatly improved in the Eastern U.S.

AUDIO: Interview with Brad Rippey