KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, HastingsExtreme Drought In Texas Moving North?

Extreme Drought In Texas Moving North?

State and government officials got together today to talk drought. A bad word in this part of the country--nevertheless, it's mitigation is essential to our way of life.

Today climatologists warn, our way of life could be under threat sooner than most think.

While forecast models paint a not so bad picture for next spring's ag producers, scientists are keeping a close eye on Texas.

So far, the state's worst drought in history has caused over five billion dollars in damage to Texas' agriculture industry and has dried up forty percent of it's reservoirs and just the existence of such a large drought could cause it to spread here.

"We will definitely need to be aware as the source region for the precipitation is to the South, so if the air's going over a dried out environment it means less precipitation for us," said Brian Fuchs with the National Drought Mitigation Center.

And if the drought does begin to migrate it may not just stop in Southern Nebraska. Climatologists think if the extreme drought in Texas, and now Oklahoma, does begin to migrate North it could spread all the way into the Dakotas.