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Editorial
Cool, wet weather no reason to complain
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
North Platte is dryer than Moab, Utah, according to a story in the Lincoln Journal Star, but McCook isn't far behind.
While Moab averages 9 inches of precipitation a year, North Platte received only 7.87 inches since April 28, 2012.
A check of Gazette records shows McCook has received 9.72 inches since the same date. McCook finished the year 2012 with 9.36 inches of rain, 13.17 inches below normal.
We barely recovered from "Drought David," water-short years given that name by Sen. Ben Nelson, with two years of near-normal precipitation, when we slipped back into drought last year.
Red Willow Western rural firefighters ranged as far as South Dakota fighting grass fires last year, and speculation is that this year will be just as dry.
Meanwhile, water storage and recreational opportunities offered by Southwest Nebraska's "Great Lakes" -- Enders, Swanson, Hugh Butler and Harry Strunk -- are draining away by order of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources in order to comply with the Republican River Compact. Southwest lakes are being drawn down to Jan. 1, 2013, levels and any water that flows in will be allowed to run out until the order is lifted.
Perhaps a reminder that we're in an "extreme" to "exceptional" drought area according to the U.S. Drought Monitor -- http://bit.ly/YdI3hl -- will make this week's unusually cold and wet weather a little more palatable.