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Severe drought expands in western Kentucky; driest portion of the state

Drought conditions are increasing statewide, and continue to be most severe in western Kentucky, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.

Extreme drought conditions (D3 on a scale of D0 to D4) now affect most of western Kentucky, or almost 13 percent of the state.

D2, or severe drought is now in 27 percent of Kentucky, centered in the south central portion of the state.

Moderate drought conditions, or D1, principally encompass the eastern half of the state, and abnormally dry conditions (D0) remain in place along the Ohio River counties.

No areas of Kentucky are reported to have D4 extreme drought conditions this week, but there are such areas in northeaster Arkansas, southern Georgia and northern Florida.

Brian Fuchs with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln noted that the period from November 2025 through March 2026 ranks as the fifth-driest five-month period on record for Kentucky.

There may be some good news in the days ahead, according to the Climate Prediction Center, as Kentucky is being forecast to have near or slightly below temperatures during the period that ends May 2, along with slightly above normal precipitation.
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