1/1/13 - 42.05% Of Contiguous U.S. In Severe To Exceptional Drought; 24% KS Wheat Good Or Better
Snowfall in parts of the Plains last week had little impact on historic drought gripping the region, but parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and the Southeast showed slight improvement, weather experts said.
A weekly report issued Thursday by a consortium of federal and state climatology experts said that as of January 1, 42.05 percent of the contiguous United States was in severe to exceptional drought, down from 42.45 percent the previous week.
Parts of the central Plains received snow in the last week, providing some much-needed protection for the region's dormant winter wheat crop before temperatures plunged at the end of December.
However, the snow did not offer much drought relief, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report. "It's getting colder now and the ground is starting to freeze up, so if any precipitation does fall, it's not going to go into the soil," said David Miskus, a meteorologist with the U.S. Climate Prediction Center who contributes to the Drought Monitor.
EDIT
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-usa-drought-idUSBRE9020GZ20130103?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
