13 Kansas counties hit hardest by drought, KU scientists say

LAWRENCE -- Scientists at the University of Kansas have pinpointed the 13 south-central and southwest Kansas counties that have been hit the hardest by this year's drought.

Researchers in the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing program at KU combined remote sensing technology, weather maps and highly detailed satellite images to measure the impact of the drought, which has adversely affected this year's winter wheat crop.

They determined that the following Kansas counties have suffered the harshest drought conditions this year:

Barton, Ford, Gray, Greely, Harper, Haskell, Kingman, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Stafford, Stanton and Sumner.

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise funded the study.

John Lomas, researcher at KARS and the KU technology transfer company Terrametrics Agriculture Inc., said the current drought mirrors the situation in 1996, which was the worst drought in recent years.

Still, he doesn't think it indicates a pattern.

"Between 1996 and now there have been some great years -- some bumper years -- so I don't think there is any kind of a trend," he said. "If we saw these conditions year after year, then there would be a need to rethink land use in these areas."

Lomas and several other researchers at KARS work throughout the year to put together the Green Report, a set of four color-coded maps that detail vegetation conditions in areas as small as 250 acres. The report is able to compare current conditions with maps of the same area from the previous week, the same time a year ago or even an 11-year average.

The researchers get their detailed look at vegetation through satellite remote sensing technology. They scan the land using sensors that detect infrared light. Healthy, green vegetation reflects the infrared light back up to the satellite, giving an accurate account of whether vegetation is progressing, as well as how dense -- or lush -- it is.

The report is used frequently by farmers, seed and fertilizer dealers, commodity traders and the transportation industry, among others.

These days, the Green Report maps for southern Kansas and Oklahoma have virtually no green areas on them. The current drought we are experiencing is most likely the price for an unseasonably warm winter, Lomas said.

"Dry conditions and warm temperatures early in the season -- as early as December -- caused the wheat to grow more than it should and it sapped a lot of the moisture out of the soil that it could be using right now," he said.

If the current conditions persist, many farmers across the state might have to abandon their winter wheat crops in favor of summer crops. Lomas said he hopes it doesn't come to that.

"It's up to Mother Nature," he said. "If we get some more moderate temperatures and some good rains in these areas in the next few weeks, some of it can recover. I've seen it turn around before."