Long-range forecasts are leaning towards a drier summer. “Some of that has to do with the transition from El Nino to La Nina which is happening as we speak,” said Brad Rippey, USDA meteorologist. “El Nino is fading fast and La Nina’s on the way; that tends to be a drought maker for the country as a whole. Perhaps as early as this summer, we’ll see drought encroaching from the west back across the Great Plains.”
