PIERRE, (KCCR) — A tricky spring storm that dropped snow and ice across South Dakota led to reductions of low level drought conditions in the state. This week’s update of the U-S Drought Monitor for South Dakota shows a swath of no drought cutting through a wide area of D-Zero abnormally dry conditions. Abnormally dry areas were removed from northeast South Dakota with the snowfall. Statewide, areas of no drought increased 11-percent while abnormally dry areas fell back by 10-percent. Moderate drought fell by two-percent. Hand County saw a very limited reduction of abnormally dry while there was no change through the rest of central South Dakota. Long standing areas of moderate drought in southeast South Dakota is gone. It remains in the western and northwestern parts of the state. Moderate drought takes up five-percent of Pennington; 63-percent of Lawrence; 37-percent of Butte; 91-percent of Harding; 47-percent of Perkins and 31-percent of Corson County.
