Agricultural News
Extreme to exceptional drought now covers Oklahoma
Fri, 10 Aug 2012 06:05:24 CDT
Spurred by rapidly the rapidly intensifying flash drought and its impacts, including the extreme fire danger realized in the state over the last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor has now designated virtually all of Oklahoma in extreme-to-exceptional drought. Nearly 97 percent of the state is now depicted by the Drought Monitor in those worst two drought intensities, the highest such coverage for the state since the Drought Monitor effort began in 2000. A narrow swath of exceptional drought extends from Cleveland and McClain counties in central Oklahoma to the northwest where it broadens and covers much of western Kansas. The latest Drought Monitor map for OKlahoma is above.
The next highest percentage of extreme-to-exceptional drought designation was 93 percent from the same week last year on August 9, 2011. The percentage of exceptional drought alone is only 16 percent, while the August 9 map from 2011 had 65 percent of the state designated in the worst drought category.
Nationally, the drought intensified in the US corn and soybean belt, while it eased a bit overall. The latest US Drought Monitor map can be seen below.
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