News

Loki – Clint and Darsey Offutt’ s husky dog – is ready for a holiday winter snow. Bring on the sled and the needed moisture!!!! According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for moisture this week is lacking with sunny skies today (Wednesday) and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Thursday continues at 55 degrees with 5-10 mph winds and mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the high 60’ s remains into the weekend. Since 2000, the longest duration of drought (D1-D4) in Kansas lasted 248 weeks beginning on Nov. 9, 2010, and ending on Aug. 4, 2015. The most intense period of drought occurred the week of Aug. 21, 2012, where D4 affected 66.93 percent of Kansas land. According to the NOAA, the driest multi-year periods on record occurred during the 1910s, 1930s, and 1950s, with the driest five-year period being 1952– 1956. On the other extreme, the winter of 1885-86 was severe with measuring snow drifts of six feet or more common and the temperature dropped to 30 degrees below zero in some places. It was estimated that nearly 100 Kansans froze to death during the storm. Losses of up to 75 percent of cattle was recorded and businesses and the railroad was paralyzed for weeks.