TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Northeast Kansas is starting to show the effects of a Fall drought and the rainfall shortage is becoming apparent in the Kansas River.
According to the National Weather Service, from August 1st, 2020 to November, 22nd, Topeka has received 4.45 inches of rain. The yearly average for that time frame for Topeka is 12.78 inches.
Sandbars in the Kansas River have become larger as the water level has dropped because of the drought conditions.
The Kansas River, also known as the KAW River, begins at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers just east of Junction City and flows 148 miles eastward to Kansas City, Wyandotte County, where it joins the Missouri River.
The river basin averages 130 miles in width and covers an area of just over 60,000 square miles. More than half of this drainage, 34,423 square miles is in Kansas, covering most of the northern half of the state.
A few of the Kansas cities and towns that benefit from the Kansas River include:
- Junction City
- Ogden
- Manhattan
- Wamego
- Topeka
- Tecumseh
- Lawrence
- Bonner Springs
- Kansas City
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