Much wetter than normal conditions brought needed drought relief to all of western and north central Nebraska in May. Drought conditions improved the most in southwestern Nebraska where record to near record precipitation fell in May. Some locations in southwestern Nebraska saw a 2 to 3 category improvement in drought conditions in May. Elsewhere, drought conditions improved at least a one category by the end of May.

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

Over the western third of Hooker County severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of May. For the remainder of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought by the end of the month.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought across all of Logan County by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Stapleton 5W reported 6.90 inches of precipitation for May. This was 3.44 inches above the normal of 3.46 inches.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of May over far northwestern McPherson County. Over the remainder of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought by the end of the month.

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

Across most of Arthur county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of May. Across far southeastern portions of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Arthur recorded 8.13 inches of precipitation for May. This was 4.76 inches above the normal of 3.37 inches.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across far northwestern portions of Keith county through the end of May. Over the remainder of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought over far north central portions of the county, while the remainder of the county, improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Kingsley Dam reported 6.98 inches of precipitation in May. This was 3.63 inches above the normal of 3.35 inches. The cooperative observer at Ogallala reported 5.77 inches of precipitation in May. This was 2.55 inches above the normal of 3.22 inches.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought across most of Lincoln County by the end of May. Over far northeastern portions of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Wallace 2W reported 5.26 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.79 inches above the normal of 3.47 inches. The cooperative observer at Hershey 5SSE reported 5.18 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 1.85 inches above the normal of 3.33 inches. At the North Platte Airport, 7.55 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 4.20 inches above the normal of 3.35 inches. The cooperative observer at Brady reported 7.32 inches of precipitation for May.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted over far eastern portions of Frontier County in May. Over the remainder of the eastern half of Frontier County, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of May. Over the western half of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) and abnormally dry (D0) conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Curtis reported 7.30 inches of precipitation in May. This was 3.61 inches above the normal of 3.69 inches. The cooperative observer at Eustis 2NW reported 3.35 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.23 inches below the normal of 3.58 inches.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across southeastern portions of Grant county through the end of May. Across far northwestern portions of the county, moderate (D1) drought conditions improved to abnormally dry (D0) conditions by end of the month. Over the remainder of the county severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of May.

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

May began with extreme (D3) drought over the eastern 3/4ths of Chase County, while severe (D2) drought existed over the western quarter of the county. By the end of May, moderate drought conditions (D1) existed over most of Chase County. Over far eastern Chase County, abnormally (D0) dry conditions existed. The cooperative observer at Imperial reported 8.28 inches of precipitation for May. This was 5.11 inches above the normal of 3.19 inches. At the Imperial airport, 9.09 inches of precipitation fell. This was 6.17 inches above the normal of 2.92 inches.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions across all of Garden County by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Crescent Lakes NWR reported 3.77 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.70 inches above the normal of 3.07 inches. The cooperative observer at Oshkosh reported 4.88 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.86 inches above the normal of 3.02 inches. The cooperative observer at Oshkosh 8SW reported 4.98 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.84 inches above the normal of 3.14 inches. The cooperative observer at Oshkosh 10NE reported 5.00 inches of precipitation for May.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions over most of Perkins County by the end of May. Over far western portions of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of the month.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions across all of Deuel County by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Chappell reported 5.67 inches of precipitation for May.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to abnormally dry (D0) conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Hayes Center reported 9.54 inches of precipitation in May. This was 5.98 inches above the normal of 3.56 inches.

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

Across far northeastern Boyd County, moderate (D1) drought conditions persisted through the end of May. Across far southwestern Boyd County, severe (D2) persisted through the end of the month. Over the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Lynch reported 2.03 inches of precipitation for May.

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

Over far northeastern Holt County, severe (D2) drought conditions continued through the end of May. Over the remainder of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Atkinson 3SW reported 3.44 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.87 inches below the normal of 4.31 inches. The cooperative observer at O'Neill reported 4.66 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.45 inches above the normal of 4.21 inches.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Bartlett 1W reported 4.92 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.95 inches above the normal of 3.97 inches.

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

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across southeastern portions of Custer County through the end of May. For the remainder of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of the month. At the Broken Bow Airport, 6.46 inches of precipitation was reported for May. This was 2.51 inches above the normal of 3.95 inches. The cooperative observer at Callaway 8WSW reported 8.04 inches of precipitation in May. The cooperative observer at Anselmo 2WSW reported 7.72 inches of precipitation for May. This was 3.98 inches above the normal of 3.74 inches.

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

Over far southeastern Cherry County, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought by the end of May. Over portions of east central Cherry County, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of the month. Over northeastern portions of the county, moderate (D1) drought conditions improved to abnormally dry (D0) conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Valentine Lakes NWR reported 4.49 inches of precipitation in May. This was 0.68 inches above the normal of 3.81 inches. At the Valentine airport, 3.67 inches of precipitation fell in May. This was 0.15 inches above the normal of 3.52 inches.

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

Moderate (D1) drought conditions improved to abnormally dry (D0) drought conditions over northwestern portions of Keya Paha County by the end of May. Over far southeastern portions of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of the month. For the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Springview 2NW reported 4.86 inches of precipitation in May.

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

Across the northern half of Brown County, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of May with the exception of far northwestern portions of the county, where severe (D2) drought improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions. Over the southern half of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Ainsworth reported 4.46 inches of precipitation for May. This was 0.66 inches above the normal of 3.80 inches. The cooperative observer at Elsmere 9ENE reported 5.17 inches of precipitation for May. This was 1.02 inches above the normal of 4.15 inches.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May across all of Thomas County.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May. The cooperative observer at Ericson 8WNW reported 6.56 inches of precipitation in May. This was 2.59 inches above the normal of 3.97 inches. The cooperative observer at Burwell reported 5.30 inches of precipitation in May. This was 1.26 inches above the normal of 4.04 inches.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought by the end of May over all of Rock County.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions across all of Loup County by the end of May.

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

Moderate (D1) drought conditions improved go abnormally dry (D0) conditions over most of western Cherry County by the end of May. Across south central and central Cherry County, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of the month.

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

Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May.