Drought in Eastern Cherry, Nebraska

Moderate (D1) drought conditions expanded to severe (D2) drought conditions over all of eastern Cherry County by the end of October. A small pocket of extreme (D3) drought was noted in the Valentine vicinity at the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Valentine Lakes NWR reported 0.24 inches of precipitation in October. This 1.39 inches below the normal of 1.63 inches. Valentine reported 0.07 inches of precipitation for October which was 1.35 inches below the normal of 1.42 inches. With precipitation records going back to 1890, October 2024 was the 9th driest October on record for Valentine.

Continued dry conditions across western and north central Nebraska, led to the expansion of severe (D2) drought conditions across a large portion of western and north central Nebraska in October. By the end of the month, severe (D2) and extreme (D3) drought conditions were generally along and north of the North Platte River from Lisco to North Platte, and north of the Platte River from North Platte to Brady.