Northern Wyoming's Drought Could Get Worse

Laramie, Wy – The drought that has gripped northern Wyoming for years will probably continue this year, and might even get worse.
That's the word from state climatologist Jan Curtis, and others
who are closely watching Wyoming's weather.
Conditions are much better in southern Wyoming, where the mountain snowpacks that feed several of the southern river systems already are above average.
But it's already looking like a dry winter in the north. The snowpack that feeds the Belle Fourche Basin is at just 48 percent of its 30-year average. The Shoshone, Big Horn, Upper Yellowstone/Madison, Snake River and Powder/Tongue basins also are well below average.
Tom Frieders is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Riverton. He says instead of passing over Wyoming like it usually does. That means moisture is passing both north and south of the state, but Wyoming is left in a dry spell.