With the exception of southwestern Nebraska, drought conditions improved somewhat across western and north central Nebraska in May. A large portion of central and portions of north central Nebraska improved from extreme (D3) drought to severe (D2) drought. Locations over far southwestern Nebraska remained in extreme (D3) drought with some expansion in drought severity noted across Chase and Hayes counties.

Drought in LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The month of May began with extreme (D3) drought conditions over far southeastern Lincoln county, with severe (D2) drought conditions over the remainder of the county. By the end of May, drought conditions improved with severe (D2) drought conditions over the southern third of the county and moderate (D1) drought conditions over the remainder of the county. The cooperative observer at Hershey 5SSE reported 2.77 inches of precipitation for the month. That was 0.56 inches below the normal of 3.33 inches. The cooperative observer at Wallace 2W reported 2.52 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.95 inches below the normal of 3.47 inches. At the North Platte Airport, 2.98 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 0.37 inches below the normal of 3.35 inches. The cooperative observer at Brady reported 3.90 inches of precipitation in May.

Drought in HAYES, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions expanded into all of Hayes county by the end of May.  The cooperative observer in Hayes Center recorded 3.69 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.13 inches above the normal of 3.56 inches.

Drought in FRONTIER, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions, over all of Frontier county, improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over the eastern third of Frontier county. The cooperative observer at Eustis 2NW reported 3.54 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.04 inches below the normal of 3.58 inches. The cooperative observer at Curtis reported 3.10 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.59 inches below the normal of 3.69 inches.

Drought in FRONTIER, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions, over all of Frontier county, improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over the eastern third of Frontier county. The cooperative observer at Eustis 2NW reported 3.54 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.04 inches below the normal of 3.58 inches. The cooperative observer at Curtis reported 3.10 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.59 inches below the normal of 3.69 inches.

Drought in DEUEL, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Deuel county through the end of May. The cooperative observer at Chappell reported 2.85 inches of precipitation for May.

Drought in KEYA PAHA, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of May over Keya Paha county. The cooperative observer at Springview recorded 2.95 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.10 inches below the normal of 4.05 inches.

Drought in ROCK, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions over the southern third of Rock county in May. For the northern 2/3rds of Rock county, extreme (D3) drought conditions, improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of May.

Drought in BROWN, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions over southern Brown county in May. Over northern Brown county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of may. The cooperative observer at Ainsworth recorded 3.59 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.21 inches below the normal of 3.80 inches. The cooperative observer at Elsmere 9ENE reported 2.45 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.70 inches below the normal of 4.15 inches.

Drought in BLAINE, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted over all of Blaine county in May. The cooperative observer at Purdum reported 4.55 inches of precipitation in April. This was 0.28 inches above the normal of 4.27 inches.

Drought in GARDEN, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions continued south of the North Platte River in May over portions of Garden county. For areas north of the North Platte River, drought conditions improved from severe (D2) to moderate (D1) drought. The cooperative observer at Lisco reported 4.51 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.30 inches above the normal of 3.21 inches. The cooperative observer at Oshkosh reported 2.89 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.13 inches below the normal of 3.02 inches. The cooperative observer at Oshkosh 8SW reported 3.48 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.34 inches above the normal of 3.14 inches.

Drought in CUSTER, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions over eastern Custer county by the end of May. For the remainder of Custer county, severe (D2) drought conditions remained in place in May. The cooperative observer at Anselmo 2WSW reported 2.91 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.83 inches below the normal of 3.74 inches.  At Broken Bow, 2.63 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 1.32 inches below the normal of 3.95 inches.  The cooperative observer at Callaway reported 4.07 inches of precipitation in May.

Drought in HOOKER, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions, over the eastern 2/3rds of the county, shrunk to northeastern portions of Hooker county by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Mullen reported 2.34 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.79 inches below the normal of 3.13 inches.

Drought in PERKINS, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought persisted over all of Perkins county in May. The cooperative observer at Madrid reported 2.15 inches of precipitation for May. This was 1.39 inches below the normal of 3.54 inches.

Drought in SHERIDAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions across far western Sheridan county improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Ellsworth 2W reported 5.03 inches of precipitation for the month of May. This 2.28 inches above the normal of 2.75 inches. The cooperative observer at Gordon 6N reported 2.78 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.46 inches below the normal of 3.24 inches.

Drought in MCPHERSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions over the eastern half of McPherson county, improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of May.

Drought in LOGAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions over all of Logan county improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions over the western third of Logan county by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Stapleton 5W reported 4.10 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.64 inches above the normal of 3.46 inches.

Drought in KEITH, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions over the northern half of Keith county in May. The cooperative observer at Kingsley Dam reported 2.24 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.11 inches below the normal of 3.35 inches. The cooperative observer at Ogallala reported 1.58 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.64 inches of precipitation below the normal of 3.22 inches.

Drought in CHASE, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (MST-7)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted over the western 2/3rds of Chase county through the end of May. Drought conditions deteriorated to extreme (D3) drought conditions over the eastern third of Chase county by the end of May. At the Imperial Airport, 2.72 inches of precipitation was reported. This was 0.20 inches below the normal of 2.92 inches. The cooperative observer at Imperial reported 3.01 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.16 inches below the normal of 3.17 inches.

Drought in LOUP, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions over Loup county in May.

Drought in THOMAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas county through the end of May.

Drought in BOYD, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to Severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over Boyd county. For locations over far western Boyd county, conditions improved further to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Butte recorded 5.64 inches of precipitation for May. This was 1.41 inches above the normal of 4.23 inches. At the cooperative station at Lynch, 3.82 inches of precipitation fell in May.

Drought in HOLT, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to Severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over most of Holt county. Drought conditions improved from extreme (D3) drought to moderate (D1) drought across far northwestern Holt county by the end of May. The cooperative observer at O'Neill reported 3.19 inches of precipitation for May. This was 1.02 inches below the normal of 4.21 inches. The cooperative observer at Atkinson 3SW reported 3.07 inches of precipitation for May. This was 1.24 inches below the normal of 4.31 inches.

Drought in EASTERN CHERRY, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Severe (D2) drought conditions over all of eastern Cherry county improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions in northeastern Cherry county in May. Across southeastern Cherry county severe (D2) drought conditions remained in place through May.  The cooperative observer at Valentine Lakes National Wildlife Refuge reported 2.72 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.19 inches below the normal of 3.91 inches. At Valentine, 2.54 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 0.98 inches below the normal of 3.52 inches. The cooperative observer at Kilgore 1NE reported 3.47 inches of precipitation for May.

Drought in GARFIELD, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over most of Garfield county. Across far southeastern Garfield county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Ericson 8WNW recorded 5.41 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.44 inches above the normal of 3.97 inches. The cooperative observer at Burwell recorded 3.11 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.93 inches below the normal of 4.04 inches.

Drought in WHEELER, NEBRASKA
From 01-MAY-22 00:00:00 to 31-MAY-22 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May over most of Wheeler county. Over portions of west central Wheeler County, drought conditions improved from extreme (D3) to moderate (D1) conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Bartlett 1W reported 4.10 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.13 inches above the normal of 3.97 inches.