Despite more than an inch of rain, standing water in fields and a rise in rivers and streams, much of the Midwest remains in a severe drought.

While farmers and those at the National Weather Service may be happy to see any amount of precipitation, the area’s subsoil remains dry. And precipitation during the last few months is still lagging severely. According to the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis., the Austin-Albert Lea area has only received 2.12 inches of precipitation for the entire winter, more than an inch below normal. Worse, the same area has received 7.5 inches of precipitation since Aug. 1, which is 7.62 inches below normal. The problem is more severe to the west.

According to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, a severe drought is likely to persist or intensify well into spring. NWS Meteorologist Jeff Boyne said the recent rains, and potential rains in the coming days, won’t be enough to improve drought conditions. Recent precipitation may only be enough to briefly add some topsoil moisture. Subsoil moisture remains depleted.

“Excavation workers, tilers, they have reported that things are just very dry in the subsoils,” said Lynn Lagerstedt, owner of GPS services in Adams. Lagerstedt, who specializes in precision farm equipment and soil testing, hopes dry conditions will begin to turn around. Lagerstedt said it’s not the worst drought he’s ever seen, but some farmers are still worried.

“They’re still concerned about it,” Lagerstedt added.

According to Boyne, above-normal moisture may be a possibility in March, but farmers may be in trouble if precipitation doesn’t increase significantly before July.

“If we don’t get the recharge of moisture in the spring, then we’ve got serious problems coming in July,” he said.

If that happens, farmers will have to use minimum tillage to save as much soil moisture as possible. Perhaps the only benefit is for jobs that require moving dirt. Justin Hanson, resource specialist with Mower Soil and Water Conservation District, said contractors will try to move summer projects into spring to spread out their workload. Still, he sees how the problem will affect farmers more than others.

“Those guys are sweating it out a little bit,” he said.

Hanson — whose work revolves around creating wetlands and repairing streams and reducing flows — sees the effect on waterways. He hasn’t seen anything quite like it years.

“There are creeks dry that I have never seen dry,” he said.

For updated drought maps and more information, go to www.drought.gov.