Agricultural News
Flash Drought Making Reappearance Across Much of Oklahoma
Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:29:03 CDT
Associate State Climatologist Gary McManus says more and more color is showing up on the latest drought map with 45percent of the state now covered by drought. That's a rise from 38 percent last week. Moderate drought spread across southern Oklahoma and the non-drought status of "abnormally dry" also spread up into central Oklahoma, as well as northern Oklahoma. So the amount of the state covered by D0 (abnormally dry) to D4 (exceptional drought) rose from 60percent to 74 percent.
McManus says the main driver is the fact that since August 18, almost no rain has fallen in the state. The statewide average for that period was 0.07", 1.81" below normal (or about four percent of normal). That's the driest August 18-September 5 since 1921. Southwestern Oklahoma has not recorded a drop of moisture during that time.
Southern Oklahoma has had a rough time even farther back, however. While the northern two-thirds of the state was getting decent rains during the first 17 days of August, the southern third was going largely without.
Temperatures have been mostly on the hot side since the rains went away on the 18th, especially on the high temps side. The statewide average temperature from the Mesonet since the August 18 was 80.6 degrees, 1.3 degrees above normal. The maximum temperatures, however, averaged 93.6 degrees, 2 degrees above normal.
The sudden-but-extended lack of rainfall coupled with above normal temperatures combine to make a flash drought situation, McManus says. For those areas across the western third of the state, this is not a flash drought, it's nearly the culmination of a three-year drought episode, which can trace its beginnings back to October 2010. Looking at the 36-month period from August 2010-July 2013, southwestern Oklahoma has had an area averaged total of about 64 inches of rain, which is about 20 inches below normal for that three year period, and ranks as the 4th driest since 1895.
The dry conditions are starting to impact Oklahoma's soils and conditions look fairly dry for the next 7 days, especially for southern Oklahoma.
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