A broad swath of moderate to heavy precipitation was observed in part of the Plains from Iowa and eastern Nebraska southward through most of Kansas, according to a report from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell on these areas, with amounts closer to 6 inches measured in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas.

Prior to last week, dryness only affected a few portions of this broad area…but where it did, conditions were significantly relieved.

The broad abnormally dry area across central and eastern Kansas was reduced to two relatively small areas in the central and east-central parts of the state (where moderate drought existed last week).

Precipitation totals for the first half of December exceeded 4 inches in a broad area from southeastern Nebraska and Iowa southward through the southeastern Plains

In other parts of the region, light to moderate precipitation had little effect on the existing dryness and drought.