Drought Officially Over, Though Its Impact Lingers

Rain and snow have kept many farmers out of the fields, but the extra precipitation has served at least one good purpose: The drought is officially over.

Last year’s hot and dry weather battered crops, destroyed lawns, and dried up pastures. But, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Shea says, so far this spring has been a different story with all the extra rain and snow.

“Things have really improved. We’ve got some moisture in the soil, so at least the drought status has kind of ended.”

Even though the state is no longer in a drought, University of Wisconsin Extension corn agronomist Joe Lauer says soil moisture levels are still lower than average. He says farmers will need a good amount of rain this season.

“If we don’t have any more rain from tomorrow on, we could basically end up with a drought situation because we’re not going to be able to finish our crops.”

While the drought may be over, there is a small part of northwest Wisconsin that’s still considered by meteorologists to be “abnormally dry”.