Drought conditions for most of Johnson County were downgraded by officials Thursday.
In the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Weekly Update on Thursday, most of the county was downgraded from the D1 — Moderate Drought category to the D0 – Abnormally Dry category. Some areas of extreme northwestern Johnson County were downgraded from the D-2 — Severe Drought to the D1 — Moderate Drought category.
The Drought Monitor is a joint venture between the U.S. Government and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It is a five-category system, with D0 – Abnormally Dry being the lowest category and D4 – Exceptional Drought being the highest category. Each weekly update uses data from the previous seven days to make the assessments.
Areas of western Indiana and northern Indiana are currently under D2 – Severe Drought, with some areas of western, northern and southeastern Indiana under D1 – Moderate Drought. Most of the rest of Indiana is considered to be Abnormally Dry, with some areas of southern and eastern Indiana reporting no drought conditions at all, officials say.
The county has not been designated as being under a drought declared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
