Drought in Lincoln, Nebraska

Moderate (D1) drought conditions deteriorated to severe (D2) drought over far southern and far southwestern portions of Lincoln County in February. Over the remainder of the county, moderate (D1) drought conditions were present. The cooperative observer at Hershey 5 SSE reported 0.26 inches of precipitation in February. This was 0.17 inches below the normal of 0.43 inches. The cooperative observer at Wallace 2W reported 0.09 inches of precipitation for February. This was 0.47 inches below the normal of 0.56 inches. At the North Platte Regional Airport, 0.32 inches of precipitation was reported. This was 0.25 inches below the normal of 0.57 inches. The cooperative observer at Brady reported 0.34 inches of precipitation for February.

Continued dry conditions in February, coupled with very warm temperatures, led to expansion of drought conditions across western and north central Nebraska in February. Locations in the western Sandhills, portions of southwestern Nebraska, the eastern Nebraska Panhandle and portions of north central Nebraska, saw drought conditions reaching severe (D2) and even extreme (D3) drought conditions by the end of February.