Rain Showers Ease Up Drought Conditions

A recent spate of rain showers has brought some much-needed relief to the area with drought conditions improving.

Crawford County has seen more precipitation in the last few weeks and the US Drought Monitor shows the county is now between abnormally dry and moderate conditions.

At the beginning of July, about 60 percent of the county was in a severe drought, the worst since July 2012.

No part of the county is considered severe as August begins.

Around 35 percent of the county is considered to have moderate conditions.

The drought monitor estimates that about 8,870 people in Crawford County are living in a drought area.

Missouri is about 94 percent abnormally dry, with 78 percent considered to be in a moderate drought, 46 percent in severe drought and 20 percent in in extreme drought.

About 3.6 million people are estimated to be living in drought areas.

The extreme drought continues to linger through the western part of the state and up through the central and northeastern regions.