Most of Johnson County is no longer experiencing drought conditions, officials said Thursday.
In the U.S. Drought Monitor’s Weekly Update on Thursday, nearly all of the county was downgraded from the D0 – Abnormally Dry category to the no drought category. Most of extreme northwestern Johnson County was downgraded from the D1 — Moderate Drought category to the D0 – Abnormally Dry category, though a very small portion is under 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, northern and southwestern Indiana are currently under D1 – Moderate Drought category, with some areas of western, northern, southwestern and central Indiana under D0 – Abnormally Dry. The rest of the state is 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. Officials do not expect drought conditions to develop in August.
