An extended period of dry weather intensified across portions of Central and South Central Kansas during the month of July, as most of the area saw an extended period of triple digit heat burn up the landscape. Some areas saw little or no appreciable rainfall. Areas south and west of Wichita dried out even further during the second half of the month, pushing this area into exceptional drought (D4), while other areas across Central Kansas pushed into extreme drought (D3). Other areas across the Flint Hills pushed into the severe drought (D2) category late in the month as the unrelenting 100 degree heat continued.

Drought in HARPER, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 10.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July.  The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.  Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

Drought in SUMNER, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July.  The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.   The Ninnescah River reached its eighth lowest level on record, and the lowest it has been in 30 years.  Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

Drought in CHASE, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th.  Lack of pasture grazing areas and available pasture for hay led some ranchers to sell their cattle.

Drought in BUTLER, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with the cities of Augusta and Mulvane imposing emergency water restrictions as supply levels in Augusta Lake ran dangerously low, exposing littered beer cans, fishing lures and tires that had been hidden by water for years. Water usage peaked at 3.4 million gallons a day during the middle of the month.  The city of Mulvane had to look for alternative sources of water.

Drought in CHAUTAUQUA, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 500.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in WILSON, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers had already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in GREENWOOD, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 1.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across the Flint Hills and Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers sold some of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in COWLEY, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th with some farmers chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in ELK, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 750.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in BARTON, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 2.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The severe drought (D2) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached extreme levels (D3) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the month of May and into June. The wheat harvest was the worst seen in over 15 years, with some farmers abandoning as much as half of their wheat crop and try and plant other crops. The drought began to affect the local livestock as well, as pond water supplies were low, which also led to little or no pasture grass for normal grazing. Dry conditions led to an extended burn ban issued for the whole county.

Drought in RENO, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the month of May and June. The wheat harvest was the worst seen in over 15 years, with some farmers abandoning as much as half of their wheat crop and try and plant other crops. The drought began to affect the local livestock as well, as pond water supplies were low, which also led to little or no pasture grass for normal grazing. The city of Buhler implemented voluntary water restrictions.  Some started calling the drought, The Great Drought of 2011.

Drought in MONTGOMERY, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 500.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in RICE, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3), continued across Central Kansas and across Rice county during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.  Farmers near Sterling had already chopped up more than half of their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions. Some portions of the county only saw less than one quarter of an inch (0.25) of rainfall during the month.

Drought in ELLSWORTH, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The severe drought (D2), continued across Central Kansas during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.  Local farmers had already chopped up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

Drought in HARVEY, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3), continued across Central Kansas during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. The city of Hesston declared a water emergency during the month as the city wells came close to becoming empty. Water usage peaked at 3.1 million gallons of water during the month. The lack of rain and the relentless heat took a toll on the dryland corn crop, with some farmers choosing to chop up their crop into silage.

Drought in SEDGWICK, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July.  The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.   The Ninnescah River reached its eighth lowest level on record, and the lowest is has been in 30 years.  Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

Drought in KINGMAN, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Newspaper

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July.  The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June.  Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage.  Local cattle farmers sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

Drought in MARION, KANSAS
From 01-JUL-11 00:00:00 to 31-JUL-11 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Newspaper

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with the city of Florence declaring a water emergency as demand for water exceeded supply, other communities including Goessel and Marion imposed voluntary water restrictions.