Concerns about severe drought are at their highest level since the Nebraska Rural Poll began questioning the state’s rural residents about weather events.
The 2022 poll asked a series of questions about severe weather, mirroring questions first asked in 2015 and again in 2020. Comparing responses across the three years shows that rural Nebraskans’ concerns about severe weather have fluctuated over time, depending on the weather experienced in a given year. Respondents expressed the most concern over extreme temperatures and more severe drought this year. Concerns about drought declined from 48% in 2015 to 21% in 2020 before increasing to 55% this year.
When asked about more frequent extreme rains or floods, the level of concern was highest in 2020. Just less than 30% of respondents were concerned about those conditions in 2020, compared to just less than 25% this year and 15% in 2015.
The concern about severe drought and more extreme summer temperatures is especially true for Panhandle residents. More than three-quarters of those respondents are concerned about more extreme droughts, compared to about half of residents of the northeast, southeast and south-central regions.
The poll, now in its 27th year, is sent annually to 7,000 households in rural communities across the state.
The Nebraska Rural Poll is the largest annual poll gauging rural Nebraskans’ perceptions about policy and quality of life. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3%. Complete results are available at ruralpoll.unl.edu.
