Agricultural News
U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook Calls For Oklahoma Panhandle Drought To Persist Into July
Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:04:46 CDT
Striking a balance between good news and bad news is a challenge for the western Oklahoma Panhandle in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. This is especially true when you look at the seasonal drought outlook April-July. The drought is expected to persist for the Panhandle and neighboring regions.
The good news is no drought is expected to form anywhere else in the state.
For this week, there is no change in drought conditions from last week for Oklahoma. Severe drought covers 2.27 percent of the state, all of it in the western Oklahoma Panhandle and the same amount as last week.
Boise City, in Cimarron County, recorded .47 of an inch right after Christmas. Only one inch has fallen since and for Kenton the stats are even worse. A total of 110 days has elapsed since any significant moisture has fallen so it is not difficult to understand why that area is in severe drought. The drought actually started last fall for the 4-corner region of the Oklahoma Panhandle, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas.
There is no extreme or exceptional drought anywhere in Oklahoma today.
Unfortunately, looking ahead to the next 7 days, the National Weather Service precipitation map does not show much relief for the Oklahoma Panhandle.
There is some good news In the May 30-day precipitation forecast which calls for above normal amounts for much of the state, including the Panhandle.
Click here for the Climate Prediction Center map for May precipitation.
Much of the concern this week has been the impact of freezing temperatures on fast maturing winter wheat crop. (see photo of frosty wheat taken in Jackson County courtesy of Matt Muller) Adequate soil moisture has allowed the crop to grow rapidly and the extent of the freeze damage will not be known for awhile.
The U.S. Drought Monitor Map is developed through a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Click here for the latest Drought Monitor Map of Oklahoma.
Click here for the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook Map.
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