20 March 2006

Governor expands Drought Alert to include 80 counties
Fourth driest winter on record comes to a close

With today’s precipitation over parts of the state not expected to break the ongoing drought, Governor Kathleen Sebelius today raised the drought alert level to warning status for eighty counties in Kansas. Drought watches were declared for the remaining 25 counties in northeast or east central Kansas.

The Governor acted as one of the driest winters on record in Kansas comes to a close. Precipitation totals for January and February combined averaged just 0.41 inches statewide. Only the years 1917, 1923 and 1970 got off to a drier start.

“These drought alerts are intended to raise Kansans’ awareness and encourage them to review water conservation plans and to take other steps, such as being extra careful with outdoor fires,” said Sebelius. “At the same time, I’ve called on state agencies to begin looking at how they can best help Kansas families, farms and businesses cope with the drought conditions.”

Numerous recent grass and range fires attest to the drought conditions, as do below normal streamflow and reservoir levels and deficient soil moisture as Kansas farmers approach the growing season.

Tracy Streeter, Director of the Kansas Water Office and chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team, recommended the action following a meeting of the team, which is made up of leaders of state and federal agencies.

For more detailed information, see the Drought Report on the Kansas Water Office Web site at www.kwo.org.

Drought Warning counties by Climate/Crop Reporting District:

Northwest: Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Norton, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan and Graham.

West Central: Greeley, Wichita, Scott, Lane, Ness, Gove, Logan, Trego and Wallace.

Southwest: Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens.

North Central: Phillips, Rooks, Smith, Jewell, Osborne, Mitchell, Republic, Washington, Cloud, Clay and Ottawa.

Central: Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, McPherson, Marion, Rice. Rush, Russell and Saline.

South Central: Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford and Sumner.

Southeast: Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson.

Drought Watch counties by Climate/Crop Reporting District:

Northeast: Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley and Wyandotte.

East Central: Anderson, Chase, Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Linn, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee.