In June 2023, almost all of Ellsworth County was considered to be in “extreme drought” or “exceptional drought” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Now, the county — and almost all of the state — do not have drought indications.
“Drought conditions have been erased for the most part,” KWCH  Chief Meteorologist Ross Janssen said. “The August outlook calls for near or slightly cooler than average temperatures and near average rainfall.”
Janssen said overall, Ellsworth County received between 4-6.5 inches of rain throughout July. 
“In 2025, rainfall is above average for central Kansas, but only by 2-3 inches,” he said.
The level of drought in Kansas has been trending down since the rainy June wheat harvest. 
“At 31 percent of the state in some level of drought, it is the lowest it’s been since November 2021,” Janssen said in early July. “The last time it looked this good for the county was back in July 2022, but it only lasted for a month before more extreme drought returned in early fall of 2022.”
Vanessa Pearce, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita, said a gradual accumulation of moisture helps to pull the state out of the drought. 
“One event will not take you out of a drought status,” she said. “The rain we’ve had for both June and July is a huge factor.”
Pearce said the NWS looks at multiple aspects of a drought. 
“We coordinate with people at the state level, including the Kansas Water Office,” she said. 
The NWS Wichita July 2025 climate packet indicated above average precipitation across the state. 
With more rain than normal in June and into July, wheat harvest was tricky. 
“The timing of the rain may have been problematic for a smooth harvest,” Janssen said. “I saw several farmers who said this was one of the longer harvests because of the “start-and-stop” due to the rains. However, not many complaints about the rain, because we know it’s perfect for fall crops, including beans, corn and milo.”
With fall crops in the ground, he said the ongoing moisture should help.
“Fall crops should have an opportunity to do well, considering the heat won’t be that intense and the timely rains could prove just right to get good yields,” Janssen said.
He said late August temperatures look average and he doesn’t anticipate any heat waves. 
“(It will) still be humid and occasionally hot, but seems unlikely for a long spell of 100s,” Janssen said. 
Pearce said Ellsworth averages 12 days of 100-plus degree temperatures during the summer. So far, only three triple-digit days have happened this year. 
“Increased amount of moisture, especially during warmer months, prevents our temperature from getting up into the triple digit heat,” she said. “More moisture in the air prevents getting to the triple digit heat.”
In comparison, Pearce said Ellsworth had 14 triple-digit days during the 2024 summer. 

Craig Dinkel, crop production and horticulture agent for K-State Research and Extension Midway Extension District, said the fall crops are “sitting good.”
“Probably some of the best fall crops we’ve seen the last three to four years with corn, sorghum and soybeans,” he said. “In tougher years, milo or sorghum is more drought tolerant and will stand out more because it can handle it.”
But this year, everything looks good.
“Our rain has been very timely,” Dinkel said. “(We 

have) some really good-looking crops. 
“The downside is our prices are so horrible. We could look at raising good crops and people still might not make any money, which is so sad. (For) Sorghum, we’re going to need (between) 100-120 (bushels per acre) yields to break even on current grain prices. China is our biggest buyer of sorghum. If they stop buying, it takes away our market — a huge chunk of our market.”
In addition to fall crops, Dinkel said soil moisture is improving. 
“With the amount of rain and timing, we’ve made some gains on maintaining our subsoil not being so depleted this year. That’s a big thing,” he said. “The subsoil is what our crops and even our pastures rely on when we do hit dry periods. It’s anything below the top foot of soil.”
He said soil moisture can stretch down to 40 or 50 inches. 
“It’s the reserve moisture the plant roots are relying on to pull from to get through the dry periods,” Dinkel said. 
In addition to fall crops, he said the moisture is helping local ranchers.
“Overall, I would say we’re doing very well for our pasture conditions for August,” Dinkel said. “Usually by this time, we’re going backwards. We have plenty of good growth on our pastures for cattle.”
He said pastures throughout Ellsworth County tend to be green rather than golden or brown. 
“It will help farmers and ranchers be able to keep cattle on the pasture longer, not have to feed them early with supplemental feed,” Dinkel said. 
While overall, rainfall averages are up, Dinkel said it isn’t uniform. 
“With some of these rains, they have been spotty,” he said. “Some farmers still have ponds that are dry or haven’t filled up. They’re getting rains, but haven’t gotten rain to fill ponds in some areas.”

Local lakes are also affected by the summer moisture.
Pearce said Kanopolis Lake is above the normal pool level.
“It is above by about 2 feet right now,” she said. “In early July, it was above by about 1 foot, so it went up about another foot when we had that later July rain.”
Pearce said while Kanopolis Lake has been fairly stable this year, Wilson Lake is below normal pool level by about 5 feet.
“It’s stayed below the normal pool for quite some time,” she said. “It’s been staying pretty consistent. It will go up slightly when we’ve had a little bit of rain.”
Janssen said the area lakes “seem to be at acceptable levels.”
“But, as we know, a month or two with a shortage of rain can change that,” he said. “Rainfall has had a direct impact on the lake levels, but what is required are some heavy rains that lead to runoff. 
“If central Kansas were to get a big rain, say 2 inches or more, there would be adequate runoff to put more water in Kanopolis and Wilson (lakes).
“Rain directly over the lake helps, but it’s better to get some steady runoff, which can happen if the rain falls across western or northern parts of the county, as the Smoky Hill feeds directly into the lake.”
Pearce said in addition to keeping temperatures under 100 degrees, more moisture in the air helps lakes.
“When you have more moisture in the air and you’re not having as dry of air, it will keep lake levels more stable,” she said. “When you have drier air, when it’s windy, that’s when you see the levels fall off.”