Sue Ogrocki / AP file John Honeywell kicks up red dust in a dry
field as he pulls a forty foot grain drill to plant winter wheat
near Orlando, Okla., on Sept. 12, 2012. Nearly 60 percent of the
contiguous US was in at least "moderate" drought as of November
13, according to Thursday's Drought Monitor. A storm system that
brought cold, wet weather to much of the United States last week
helped ease drought in many states, but some areas that were
most in need of moisture were missed, according to a climatology
report issued on Thursday. The High Plains, which includes key
farm states of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Kansas, saw slight
improvement last week due to good precipitation. But three
quarters of both Kansas and Nebraska continued to suffer from
extreme or exceptional drought. In South Dakota, extreme or
worse drought still covers nearly 55 percent of the state.
Roughly 58.83 percent of the contiguous United States was in at
least "moderate" drought as of November 13, down from 59.48
percent a week earlie