We would probably need a week of steady rain to break the back of the drought.  At least for this summer, however.  Things have greatly improved over the course of the last several weeks.  If you didn’t mind snow when you're camping on Memorial Day weekend and if you’re okay with rain falling on weekends instead of workdays, we’ve come a long way.

The U.S. Drought Monitor updated its Idaho map last week.  It doesn’t include moisture from this past weekend.  There’s no exceptional drought listed and just four spots with extreme drought.  One of those happens to be in southern Twin Falls and Owyhee Counties.  The second is a crescent shape in Blaine, Butte, and Custer counties.  A smaller patch near the Tetons exists and then a wider dry area in the Bear Lake region.  The northern panhandle is the wettest part of the state (I’ve vacationed there and let me say in more than one way!)

Late spring moisture is welcomed by growers but has a potential downside.  If we get a dry and hot summer, there’s going to be a lot more fuel for wildfires.

I spoke with an outdoorsman late last week and he explained things are incredibly green for an Idaho spring.  Allow six to eight weeks of dry conditions and we’ll have more than our fair share of tinder.

I guess you can make an argument that there’s no optimum weather pattern when it comes to the threat of disaster.  Droughts are slow-rolling trouble.  Wildfires are fast-acting tragedies.  Oh, and with the right amount of cattle grazing the land, you don’t have nearly as much fuel for a fire.

Get our free mobile app

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

More From News Radio 1310 KLIX