SCOTT BAUER Associated Press writer | Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 12:00 am
LINCOLN, Neb.- So, is the drought over?
"No," says state climatologist Al Dutcher, who is asked the question after virtually every rainfall or snowstorm that hits Nebraska. And after the latest that pounded much of the state with snowfalls topping out at 2 feet in some areas, the question begged to be asked again.
While the ever-patient Dutcher was quick to rattle off reasons why the drought will persist - namely that moisture levels were far below normal in south-central and southeastern Nebraska before the storm - there was plenty of good news wrapped up in the spring snow.
For one, the heavy, wet blanket of snow will significantly affect the threat of grass fires, Dutcher said. The dead grass will be flattened, lessening the threat of fires spreading quickly before the grass greening later this spring, he said.
The amount of moisture in the snow was about 1 inch of water for every 8 inches of snow, Dutcher said. Some areas were brought back up to normal levels for precipitation for March, but they entered the month up to 3.5 inches behind.
"This is a good start into it, but we still need to receive another three inches of rain," Dutcher said.
The storm left behind as much as 28 inches of snow in the central part of the state.
The heaviest band of snow was seen between North Platte and Lincoln, Dutcher said. And while the Panhandle and southwestern corner of the state didn't see as much snow this time, they benefited from a storm in October that the rest of the state didn't get, he said.
"We don't really have nearly the concerns out there as far as moisture deficits as we do across eastern Nebraska," he said.
The latest snowstorm also will help stream flows, Dutcher said, but it won't undo the damage that the past five or six years of drought has wrought.
"It would take several of these type events to even make a dent," he said.
The statewide drought picture heading into the growing season will be made most clear at the end of April, Dutcher said.
The current drought map, last updated March 14, shows southeast Nebraska in severe drought, with moderate drought across the Panhandle and most of the rest of the southern half of the state. Much of the Sandhills is listed as abnormally dry, with the northeast corner being the only part registering as normal.
Several records for snowfall were set during the storm, according to Aaron Johnson, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Hastings.
Grand Island set a 24-hour record of 17.8 inches of snow, breaking the 1917 mark of 13 inches, and a 48-hour record of 20.7 inches, breaking the previous mark of 15.1 inches set Feb. 18, 1984.
Hastings also set two marks on Monday: a 24-hour record of 17.4 inches, breaking the March 18, 1984, mark of 14 inches, and a 48-hour record of 20.3 inches, breaking the mark of 17.4 inches set on Oct. 26, 1997.
The heavy snow forced the closure of long stretches of Interstate 80 on Monday, but by mid-afternoon Tuesday it was reopened from border to border.
Semitrailers that normally passed through the state filled all the spaces at the Flying J truck stop near Gretna, and about 60 spilled over into the parking lot of the Nebraska Crossing outlet mall nearby.
Business was slow at the Rapid Stop gas station in Greeley, where more than 2 feet of snow was on the ground. Greeley, 40 miles north of Grand Island, recorded the most snow in the state since Saturday: 28 inches.
"Outside of people who came to get gas for their tractors or came out before feeding cattle, there hasn't been anybody," said Rapid Stop worker Anna Mae Dutcher. "Several farmers from around brought their stuff in last night because they couldn't get back into town."
But business was brisk at the Ace Hardware in Kearney, where about 18 inches of snow was on the ground.
"Snow shovels have been going out real steady," said store manager Kris Berney.