Drought in Kansas, July 1 to 31, 2011

The extreme drought (D3), continued across Central Kansas and across Rice county during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. Farmers near Sterling had already chopped up more than half of their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions. Some portions of the county only saw less than one quarter of an inch (0.25) of rainfall during the month.

The severe drought (D2), continued across Central Kansas during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. Local farmers had already chopped up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The extreme drought (D3), continued across Central Kansas during the month of July. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. The city of Hesston declared a water emergency during the month as the city wells came close to becoming empty. Water usage peaked at 3.1 million gallons of water during the month. The lack of rain and the relentless heat took a toll on the dryland corn crop, with some farmers choosing to chop up their crop into silage.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with the city of Florence declaring a water emergency as demand for water exceeded supply, other communities including Goessel and Marion imposed voluntary water restrictions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th. Lack of pasture grazing areas and available pasture for hay led some ranchers to sell their cattle.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with the cities of Augusta and Mulvane imposing emergency water restrictions as supply levels in Augusta Lake ran dangerously low, exposing littered beer cans, fishing lures and tires that had been hidden by water for years. Water usage peaked at 3.4 million gallons a day during the middle of the month. The city of Mulvane had to look for alternative sources of water.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across the Flint Hills and Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers sold some of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th with some farmers chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The moderate drought (D1) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and worsened to a severe drought (D2) by the middle of the month. The drought reached severe levels (D2) across the area during the week of July 19th, with some farmers had already chopping up their dry land corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions.

The severe drought (D2) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached extreme levels (D3) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the month of May and into June. The wheat harvest was the worst seen in over 15 years, with some farmers abandoning as much as half of their wheat crop and try and plant other crops. The drought began to affect the local livestock as well, as pond water supplies were low, which also led to little or no pasture grass for normal grazing. Dry conditions led to an extended burn ban issued for the whole county.

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the month of May and June. The wheat harvest was the worst seen in over 15 years, with some farmers abandoning as much as half of their wheat crop and try and plant other crops. The drought began to affect the local livestock as well, as pond water supplies were low, which also led to little or no pasture grass for normal grazing. The city of Buhler implemented voluntary water restrictions. Some started calling the drought, The Great Drought of 2011.

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. The Ninnescah River reached its eighth lowest level on record, and the lowest is has been in 30 years. Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.

The extreme drought (D3) began to worsen across South Central Kansas during the first part of the month and lasted the rest of the month of July. The drought reached exceptional levels (D4) across the area during the week of July 19th. This was a continuation of a drought that started in late April and continued through the months of May and June. The Ninnescah River reached its eighth lowest level on record, and the lowest it has been in 30 years. Farmers began to chop up their dryland corn crop into silage. Local cattle farmers had sold most of their cattle due to poor pasture conditions with little or no hay to feed them.