By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Another half-inch of snow fell in Hays Thursday morning, resulting in nine inches total from the late winter storm that blanketed most of northwest Kansas Wednesday night.
According to the official report from the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town, Hays has seen 16.2 inches of snow so far this year.
Precipitation still lags behind by more than an inch and a half for the year.
The 153 cumulative average precipitation in Hays by the end of March is 2.46 inches. To date, Hays has received just 0.81 of an inch.
The newly released U.S. Drought Monitor shows all of Ellis County (3 down, 5 right from upper left corner) in severe drought.
The weekend weather forecast for Hays calls for sunshine with temperatures in the 50s.