July 2024 precipitation totals, (NWS Hastings, Courtesy)
HASTINGS — Areas along the I-80 corridor saw the highest rainfall amounts during the month of July, with each of the Tri-Cities seeing higher than normal amounts. The driest areas were to the south.
According to the National Weather Service – Hastings, most areas saw between 2.50 and 5.25 inches, and the overall wettest areas were within 25 miles of I-80 and the overall driest were near or south of the Nebraska-Kansas state line.
The wettest areas within the NWS Hastings coverage areas included Wood River, 7.81 inches; Giltner, 7.62 inches; Axtell, 7.53 inches; Kearney, 7.46 inches and Loomis, 6.86 inches.
The driest area was Plainville, Kan., with 1.20 inches. In Nebraska the driest areas were Orleans, 1.83 inches and Beaver City, 2.00 inches.
The Tri-City airports reported the following during July:
- Grand Island – 4.13 inches, 118 percent of normal, 31st wettest
- Hastings – 4.70 inches, 130 percent of normal, 26th wettest
- Kearney – 4.81 inches, 143 percent of normal, 26th wettest
For reference, normal July rainfall ranges from 3.20 to 4.50 inches, lower in the west, high in the east.
Due to the drier amounts along the state line, drought conditions have begun to creep back into Nebraska. Along the state line there are abnormally dry, D0, conditions. There is also a pocket of D0 conditions that extends from southwest Nebraska into Lincoln County.
In the far western Panhandle, severe drought, D2, conditions are present in Sioux and Scotts Bluff counties.
“Some of these drier conditions spilled northward into southern Nebraska, which also saw areas of the northeast and western Panhandle deteriorate because of an extended period of dry conditions, dry vegetation, and low streamflow values,” per the U.S. Drought Monitor.
