Unfortunately, drought continues to deepen for the KVOE listening area.
Thursday’s update from the US Drought Monitor shows an expansion of extreme drought to cover half the coverage area, essentially along and south of a line from Eskridge to Emporia to Neosho Rapids to New Strawn. The update also includes pockets of exceptional drought, the worst on the Drought Monitor scale, in central Chase County and in northern Greenwood County.
The rest of the listening area is in severe to moderate drought.
Most area counties — Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Greenwood and Morris — are in a drought emergency as announced by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly last month. Chase County residents served by Public Wholesale Water District 26, including Cottonwood Falls, Strong City and Chase County Rural Water District 1, are in a water warning and the county is in a nearly-total burn ban until further notice. Only noxious weed burns when wind speeds are below 10 mph are allowed at this time.
