By AP/KWMU
Kansas City, MO – The federal government's weekly drought update is showing even more parts of northwest Missouri experiencing "extreme" dryness. Only "exceptional" dryness ranks worse on the scale.
The drought in that part of the state is about 14 months old and only decent rainfall for several weeks will reverse that.
All of Missouri except the south-central portion is at least "abnormally dry" according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The egg-shaped "extreme drought" zone on the administrations' drought map stretches from just north of Jefferson City to the Iowa and Kansas borders.
While the drought affects urban and suburban communities, farmers are taking the hardest hit.