Hamilton County in ‘extreme drought’

Conditions across state reported to range from abnormally dry to exceptional drought 
 

A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.
A center pivot sprays water on recently emerged corn plants near the Platte River in northern Hamilton County. Extension Service educator Steve Melvin says it is unusual for farmers to be irrigating so much at this point in the growing season during the time when weather is usually wet.

“It is a very dire situation,” said Steve Melvin, Extension cropping and water system educator for Hamilton and Merrick counties. “There’s no two ways about that.” Melvin was commenting on a map released Thursday by U.S. Drought Monitor, based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which shows the majority of the county to be in the D3 or “Extreme Drought” category. The map, which shows virtually …