Nebraska/Kansas Loess Hills

Lancaster County cleared the last traces of drought as of the week of September 15-21, 2026, with no part of the county classified in any drought category. Conditions have been improving through August and September with minimal abnormal dryness, shifting the area from marginal water stress to normal conditions heading into fall.

August 2026 brought 4.9 inches of rain to Lancaster County, 1.3 inches above the 1901-2000 normal of 3.6 inches. The month ranked 32nd wettest in the county's 132-year precipitation record.

Lancaster County moved from 99.59% coverage of abnormally dry conditions (D0+) the week of July 21-27 to 0% by September 15-21. Above-normal summer and early autumn precipitation has ended drought stress in the region.

The Lincoln weather station, 1 km from the ecosystem, recorded a mean daily high of 85.5°F over the past 30 days, 4.4°F above its 1991-2020 normal, with a warmest day of 98°F on September 8. Nighttime temperatures also ran 9.7°F above normal.

Woodhouse's Toads were recorded at 16 locations between August 24 and September 17. These fall observations come as the species remains active during the waning warm months across the ecosystem's managed wetlands and suburban areas with adequate moisture.

Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, a threatened species, were recorded twice in late August and mid-September at wetland habitat near Lincoln. The species depends on the marshes and temporary wetlands mapped in this region, which comprise about 35 percent of nearby wetland habitat as riverine streambed.