Winter storms that swept across much of the country over the
past week will certainly improve soil moisture, but we’re a long
way from breaking the pattern of drought in many areas. The
latest Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin from USDA and the U.S.
Department of Commerce shows persistent drought and dry soils in
many key agricultural areas. The report, covering the week
ending on February 23, shows last week’s snows providing much-
needed moisture for rangeland, pastures, and winter wheat across
the central and southern Plains. Areas from Oklahoma and parts
of Kansas into the southern Corn Belt received over an inch of
moisture from last week’s storms. Storms centered over northern
Florida, southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia dropped more
than four inches of rain, but the Florida peninsula remains dry.
Another storm this week, which is not included in the report,
brought more heavy snow and rain from Colorado’s Front Range
across the Southern and Central Plains. The U.S. Drought Monitor
map, however, sho