Heavy rainfall Wednesday and Thursday came too late to stop a notable expansion of drought conditions across the KVOE listening area and the northern half of the state.
The US Drought Monitor now has abnormally dry conditions, the first stage of drought, covering areas north of a line of Matfield Green to Olpe to Hartford to New Strawn. Moderate drought, the next level, covers areas south of that line.
Last week, the northernmost extension of abnormally dry conditions was Matfield Green to Olpe to Hartford to Lebo. The dividing line between abnormally dry and moderate drought involved Beaumont, far northeast Greenwood County and LeRoy.
Area residents got anywhere from 1-5 inches of rainfall earlier this week. Maps are released Thursday mornings, but the data cutoff for the weekly maps is Tuesdays.
