A major snowstorm is poised to deliver much-needed precipitation to areas from central and southern California to the Rockies and Plains states during the next several days. Parts of Kansas and Nebraska — ground zero for the worst drought conditions in the U.S. — may pick up more than a foot of snow by the time the storm ends there late Thursday.
While welcome news, the storm will not deliver nearly enough precipitation to end the drought. Typically, a 10-inch snowstorm would be equivalent to about 1 inch of liquid precipitation, and many parts of Nebraska and Kansas need more than 12 inches of rain to overcome their long-term precipitation deficit. In addition, most of the snow is predicted to fall in central and southern Nebraska, bypassing the northern and eastern parts of the state, which are locked in exceptional drought conditions.
In addition, the storm may set off a severe thunderstorm outbreak across the South as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico clashes with cold, dry air moving southward from Canada. Sleet and freezing rain also threaten to disrupt travel in areas just to the south and east of the heaviest snowfall, across Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, in particular.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/snowstorm-headed-for-heart-of-drought-region-15630
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