Agricultural News
Recent Rains Help Alleviate Drought Affected Areas Across State, Though Southwest Still Thirsty for More
Thu, 26 Sep 2019 15:29:43 CDT
Rainfall over the last 30 days has caused flooding across much of the state, which has alleviated drought affected areas in the southern half of Oklahoma. However, State Climatologist Gary McManus reports that the lack of "good rains" in the northwest has led to drought intensification in other areas.
Despite all the recent precipitation though, drought still exists throughout southern Oklahoma. McManus explains the moisture surpluses there are not that big, barely above or below normal across the southwest. The true lack of rain though is currently found in the northwest. If you look at the 120-day rain maps, you can see the longer-term basis for the continuing drought coverage in Oklahoma.
This week, "Extreme Drought" conditions have been eradicated with further substantial improvement seen across the board. "Severe Drought" dropped nearly five points since last week from 7% to 2%. "Moderate Drought" has been essentially reduced by half, falling from 20% last week to 11% this week. Areas rated "Abnormally Dry" plunged down 13 points from 40% the prior week to 27% for this week.
McManus expects a true fall cold front from the north to bring more seasonable or even below seasonable temperatures along with more rain sometime late next week. Click here for a closer look at this week's Drought Monitor, or to review McManus' latest Mesonet Ticker report, click here.
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