Missouri’s state climatologist said drought conditions have improved heading into spring planting, but much of the Show-Me State remains dry. Zach Leasor said the above average snowfall over the winter recharged some soil moisture, but it has not completely fixed the deficit caused by previous drought.

He said the three years of drought is showing up in subsoil and some areas have up to 20 inches of water deficit.

“Well, we might not see this on the surface,” Leasor said. “It’s again, something to worry about this growing season, like we were last year, where, because of these underlying deficits, we could be low on deeper moisture, and when that water stops, we might not have that deeper moisture to sustain us.”

Leasor said areas of the state differ in soil moisture.

The state’s current drought alert is expected to expire at the end of March.