According to a press release last month, Governor Mike Parson called upon the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to activate the Drought Assessment Committee and the associated drought impact teams.

What does this mean? Portions of Missouri are definitely in drought conditions. A drought alert was issued for 47 counties. Pettis county was not included in that list. The closest county to Pettis, was Saline. So technically, could you say that northern Pettis County, which borders southern Saline County, could be part of that alert?

In looking at the state drought map, the northeast portion of Pettis county is in an intensity rating of D-2, severe drought. The middle portion of the county is considered D-1, moderate. The southern portion of Pettis county is rated at D-0, abnormally dry.

Heaven knows looking at the fields and the yards in the area, a nice burnt color is the latest observation. Unfortunately, any rain that we get may not bring our yards back to where we'd really like them to be. Let's face it...it's August. It's not like we're supposed to get a lot of precipitation for this month. Late summer usually does our yards and plants in year in and out.

Northern Missouri is getting hit the hardest. According to the press release, "There are several known drought impacts at this time, including those to livestock forage and water. There are also at least three public water supplies impacted in northern Missouri."

Chris Fenimore, NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI
Chris Fenimore, NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI
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