During January, 20 of the 24 South Central Nebraska counties were completely-or-partially included in either Severe (D2) or Extreme (D3) Drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Although this marked the sixth consecutive month with at least D2 assigned to some portion of the area, overall January featured positive drought trends as nearly all of South Central Nebraska received above normal precipitation (marking the second or third straight month of above normal for most places). Of the 20 counties (or portions of counties) in D2-or-worse, 16 spent the entire month in either D2 or D3 (Extreme Drought), while portions of the following five counties actually improved from D2 to D1 (Moderate Drought) on the 26th: Merrick, Nance, Hamilton, Clay and Nuckolls. This late-month improvement was driven by a major winter storm that dumped 6-12 inches of snow across most of the area, primarily on the 25th. In fact, this single storm accounted for around 70-80 percent of total January precipitation, with monthly totals ranging from as low as generally 0.40-0.75 across roughly the western half of South Central Nebraska (near to slightly above normal) to as high as generally 1.00-1.50 within much of the eastern half (well above normal).
Breaking down specific January drought categories (from worst to best): There was no change whatsoever to the areal coverage of D3, which continued to include all of Furnas/Gosper counties, along with adjacent portions of Dawson/Phelps/Harlan/far southwestern Buffalo (total of six affected counties). To the east-northeast of there, all-or-some of nine other counties along-and-west of the Highway 281 corridor spent the entire month in at least D2. Just east of there (and as earlier mentioned), five counties along Highway 14 saw D2 removed in the wake of the late-month storm. However, these five counties along with the four eastern-most counties along Highway 81 held onto at least D1 through the month. Per several dozen NWS cooperative observers/official stations, a few of the overall-highest January precipitation totals featured: 1.79 three miles north of York, 1.65 three miles west of Gresham and 1.38 in Hebron. Meanwhile, a few of the lowest (but still above normal) monthly tallies included: 0.41 in Gothenburg, 0.52 at Edison and Miller and 0.54 six miles north-northwest of Oxford. Temperature-wise, although certainly not as big of a drought-factor as it would have been during the growing season, January marked the third-straight warmer-than-average month, with most local stations averaging 4-6 degrees (F) above normal. Prior to the big late-January storm blanketing the area in snow, at least one fairly notable wildfire occurred: on the afternoon-evening of the 14th the combination of dry/drought conditions and intense northwest winds drove a blaze along a roughly nine-mile path from north of Guide Rock to west of Bostwick, scorching roughly 7,000 acres of mainly crop/pasture land.

Drought in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 26-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 26-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 26-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 26-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 26-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JAN-21 00:00:00 to 31-JAN-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor