The drought-stricken central plains may be in luck this spring. Along with the climate forecast system, the National Drought Mitigation Center is predicting the La Nina weather pattern will come to an end and switch over to an El Nino.
Climatologists hope this new pattern will be beneficial to farmers in the Corn Belt, but they do acknowledge it will take several precipitation events to bust this drought. This is in line with several other organizations who say that the end of La Nina could mean a “normal” summer for the Corn Belt with an increased number of thunderstorms to help water the crops.
Despite these predictions, Missouri’s Natural Resources Department has updated its drought response efforts.
Even though most of the country has improved recently due to winter weather, the state actually increased in abnormal drought over the past week.
Right now, more than 530,000 people are in drought areas in Missouri.
The director of the department says that the changes were made with agriculture in mind. They include developing new water resources, interconnecting systems, and adding new soil moisture stations that will help improve the accuracy of the Drought Monitor.
That could help farmers get federal money, faster.
Missouri farmers can submit public comments before February 7th.
