County under drought conditions

The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that severe drought conditions are now impacting parts of northeast Wyoming, including the edges of Crook County.

An area encompassing Weston and Campbell Counties is marked on the U.S. Drought Monitor map as experiencing moderate drought at this time, with severe drought towards the west. Moderate drought is also affecting the northern and southern edges of Crook County, though the remainder of this county is a stage lower at “abnormally dry”.

According to the Rapid City NWS station, the thunderstorms that have been a regular fixture of the summer’s weather so far have only brought spotty precipitation, which means there are deficits across certain areas. Over the last month, precipitation has ranged from 1.5 inches in some parts of northeast Wyoming to five inches in western South Dakota.

Stream flows have also dipped below normal levels.

The impacts of these drought conditions range from deterioration in top and sub-soil moisture; to dryland crops performing less than half of normal production; to dry or poor quality stock ponds and dugouts; to cured grasses and decreased availability and production of hay. The latter issue has been made worse by a very large grasshopper population.

Dead fuels are also being reported in grasses and timber. These are susceptible to ignition and thus pose a risk of grass fires.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts average to above average temperatures and below average precipitation until August 12 on its two-week forecast. Outlooks suggest that the drought conditions will persist in this area.