(Continued from page 4)

• Edwards said the additional heat has help push crop development along. Overall development is still behind compared to the five-year average.
• "Overall crop and rangeland conditions present a good picture for South Dakota with generally fair to good crop conditions and small areas poor to very poor in this week's USDA crop reports," she said. "In contrast to the dry areas several stations across various parts of the west have been very wet in August leading to drought recovery."
• Edwards said several stations in the west will be in the top 10 wettest for the month of August. In particular, Lemmon has had its wettest year on record since Jan. 1. During August the U.S. Drought Monitor map has shown improving conditions over West River counties.
• Cold front projected
• According to the forecast, Edwards said there is a cold front projected across the state over the weekend which will bring an end to the high heat index conditions. It will bring small chances for precipitation, but then it appears things could turn dry again.
• "The next best chances of rainfall may start about middle to late next week. Temperatures should remain near to above average for at least the next week or so," she said. "But the warmth should not be as severe as this week, nor will the dew point be as high."