Drought in Ellsworth, Kansas

West central to southeast portions of the county entered the month in severe drought (D2) status. While southern portions of the county remained there through the month, west central portions of the county improved to moderate drought (D1) status after rounds of storms moved through from the 17th-18th with observations in the area ranging from nearly two to over five inches.

Areas of drought impacting portions of central and south central Kansas persisted through much of the month. A degradation in the conditions occurred in Barton, McPherson and Rice counties with a classification of the extreme category (D3) beginning on May 5th. Northern Reno County was included in the degradation to D3 with a brief improvement following some rain for about a week before returning back to it by the end of the month.