Drought conditions remained unchanged across western and north central Nebraska in December. Precipitation was below normal in the eastern Nebraska Panhandle and portions of far southwestern Nebraska. Across the northern Sandhills from eastern Cherry county into Holt county, precipitation for the month was running 50 to 90 percent of normal. Across the central and southern Sandhills, including Lincoln and Keith counties, precipitation was 100 to 150 percent of normal. For the year ending in December, Broken Bow, North Platte, Valentine and Imperial, ran precipitation deficits of: -3.33, -5.48, -1.94, and -9.36 inches respectively.

Drought in GARDEN, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, drought severity remained unchanged across Garden County. Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted over the western 2/3rds of Garden county with severe (D2) drought conditions over the eastern third of the county. The cooperative station at Lisco reported 0.21 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.42 inches below the normal of 0.63 inches.  The cooperative station at Oshkosh reported 0.19 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.18 inches below the normal of 0.37 inches. The cooperative station at Crescent Lakes National Wildlife Refuge reported 0.33 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.04 inches below the normal of 0.37 inches. The cooperative station at Oshkosh 8SW reported 0.34 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.16 inches below the normal of 0.50 inches.

Drought in CHASE, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged across all of Chase County. The cooperative station at Imperial reported 0.36 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.14 inches below the normal of 0.50 inches.

Drought in SHERIDAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, drought severity remained unchanged across Sheridan County. The western half of the county was in extreme (D3) drought with the eastern half of the county in severe (D2) drought. The cooperative station at Gordon 6N reported 0.62 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.17 inches above the normal of 0.45 inches. The cooperative station at Ellsworth 2W reported 0.34 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.11 inches above the normal of 0.23 inches.

Drought in KEITH, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained present over far southern Keith County. Over the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through December. The cooperative observer at Kingsley Dam reported 0.58 inches of precipitation in December. This was 0.12 inches above the normal of 0.46 inches. The cooperative station at Ogallala reported 0.69 inches and was 0.30 inches above the normal of 0.39 inches.

Drought in ARTHUR, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, drought severity remained unchanged across Arthur county. Severe (D2) drought conditions were present over the western half of the county. The cooperative station at Arthur reported 0.41 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.08 inches above the normal of 0.33 inches.

Drought in GRANT, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

For the month of December, drought conditions remained unchanged over Grant county. Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted over southwestern portions of the county.

Drought in DEUEL, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought conditions remained unchanged across Deuel county in December. The eastern quarter of the county remained in severe (D2) drought, while the western 3/4ths of the county remained in extreme (D3) drought.

Drought in PERKINS, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged for all of Perkins County. The cooperative station at Madrid reported 0.19 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.20 inches below the normal of 0.39 inches.

Drought in HAYES, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged across all of Hayes County. The cooperative station at Hayes Center reported 0.41 inches of precipitation for December. This was 0.12 inches below the normal of 0.53 inches.

Drought in LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained over the southern half of Lincoln county. Along the Platte River Valley in central Lincoln county, severe (D2) drought conditions remained unchanged during December. The cooperative station at Wallace 2W reported 0.37 inches of precipitation for December. This was 0.03 inches below the normal of 0.40 inches. The cooperative station at Hershey 5SSE reported 0.44 inches of precipitation in December. This was 0.15 inches above the normal of 0.29 inches. At the North Platte Airport, 0.72 inches of precipitation fell which was 0.31 inches above the normal of 0.41 inches. At the cooperative station in Brady, 0.92 inches of precipitation fell.

Drought in FRONTIER, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged during the month of December in Frontier County. The cooperative station at Curtis reported 0.66 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.21 inches above the normal of 0.45 inches. The cooperative station at Eustis 2NW reported 0.91 inches of precipitation in December. This was 0.25 inches above the normal of 0.66 inches.

Drought in CUSTER, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

During the month of December, severe (D2) drought continued over far southern Custer county. The cooperative observer at Callaway 8WSW reported 0.79 inches of precipitation for the month. At the Broken Bow airport, 0.84 inches of precipitation fell. This was 0.34 inches above the normal of 0.50 inches.

Drought in GARFIELD, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:39:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions continued across southeastern Garfield county through December The cooperative station at Ericson 8WNW tallied 0.60 inches of precipitation for December. This was 0.13 inches below the normal of 0.73 inches.

Drought in WHEELER, NEBRASKA
From 01-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions continued across the southern half of Wheeler county in December. The cooperative station at Bartlett 1W reported 0.64 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.15 inches below the normal of 0.79 inches.