WELDON SPRING, Mo. — "Extreme drought" is the farthest thing from the minds of many in St. Louis as storms continue to slam the city.
Mid-Missouri, however, remains bone-dry, according to a recently released report.
The U.S. Drought Monitor dropped Thursday morning and showed no relief for farmers and residents across the central area of the state.
Areas of Cole, Morgan, Moniteau, Miller and Pettis counties are all listed as experiencing the worst of the drought at the "exceptional" level, indicating widespread crop and pasture losses along with a shortage of water in reservoirs, streams and wells.
Last week's drought monitor marked the first "exceptional" level designation in the area since 2012, and the greatest area of exceptional drought in the area in drought monitor history, the National Weather Service said.
Numerous other counties in the western and northeast parts of Missouri are experiencing "extreme" drought.
St. Louis and some southern counties including Douglas, Ozark and Wright counties are the only ones not experiencing any level of drought across the state.
Gov. Parson back in June announced state-run emergency hay and water access for Missouri farms, including:
- Boat ramps at 25 Missouri state parks will be open for farmers to collect water with almost 700 acres available for haying at 17 state parks.
- Boat ramps at 36 Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) areas are also now open for water collection.
- The Missouri Department of Transporation (MoDOT) is offering special overwidth hauling permits at no charge to help farmers and ranchers move hay.
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