Agricultural News
Drought Monitor Report Shows Drought Conditions Continue to Yo-yo in Oklahoma
Thu, 18 Nov 2021 11:25:49 CST
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, drier weather in the southwestern United States, western Great Plains and Southeast led to drought conditions developing or worsening for parts of these regions in the last week. At the same time, the northern Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest saw significant precipitation this week, which led to improving drought conditions in parts of these regions.
With data ranging from Nov. 10 to Nov. 16, 2021, the warmest temperatures, compared to normal, were found in the northwestern Great Plains and in the West, with some areas seeing temperatures at least 6 degrees above normal.
In the Southern Plains, rain fell primarily to the east of Interstate 35 in Texas and Oklahoma. Overall, the week was somewhat dry across the region. West of I-35 in Texas and Oklahoma, temperatures generally ranged from 2 to 6 degrees above normal, with some reaching 8 degrees above normal. In the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle, drought conditions largely stayed the same or worsened.
The High Plains saw notable precipitation amounts in the past week, particularly in the eastern parts of North Dakota and Kansas. Otherwise, largely dry weather ruled the week. Precipitation amounts were sufficient in northeast North Dakota to reduce long-term deficits enough to cause improvements in long-term drought conditions. In eastern Colorado and western Kansas, drought worsened and expanded in some locations, as soil moisture continued to decrease and precipitation deficits on the short- and long-term continued to grow. Most of the High Plains saw a warmer than normal week, with the warmest temperature anomalies (4 to 10 degrees above normal) taking place in western Nebraska and Kansas, the western Dakotas, and eastern Colorado and Wyoming. Residual effects from the now mostly long-term drought continued in the Dakotas, where livestock producers had problems feeding herds due to alfalfa and hay shortages.
In the West, mostly warmer than normal weather occurred in the West region this week. Many parts of the region saw temperatures ranging from 4 to 8 degrees above normal. Significant precipitation mostly occurred in the northern Sierra Nevada and in western Montana, northern Idaho and Washington and Oregon. Improvements were made to drought conditions in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana where long-term precipitation deficits, soil moisture, and groundwater were improved the most. Conditions in south-central Wyoming and northwest Colorado also improved where short-term precipitation shortfalls had lessened and soil moisture had increased. In north-central Montana, short- and long-term precipitation deficits mounted and soil moisture and streamflow decreased, leading to the expansion of exceptional drought.
To view the Contiguous U.S. Drought Map, click here.
Looking ahead to Nov. 24, a deep low-pressure system over Canada is forecast to affect much of the central and eastern half of the lower 48 states. The most severe weather brought by the system is forecast to hit the Northeast. The system's cold front is expected to push through the mid-section and the eastern U.S. through Friday. It is expected to bring showers and thunderstorms to parts of the South and Southeast. Temperatures behind the front are expected to be up to 20 degrees above normal.
From Nov. 24 to Nov. 30, 2021, below-normal precipitation is forecast across much of the West and parts of the High Plains and Midwest. Above-normal precipitation is favored from the eastern part of the Southwest along the Gulf Coast and into the Southeast. Above-normal temperatures continue to be likely for the western U.S.
To view the 6 - 10 Day Precipitation Outlook, click here.
To view the 6 - 10 Day Temperature Outlook, click here.
According to the Monthly Drought Outlook map, drought condition improvement is likely for much of the Pacific Northwest. In the remainder of the West and Great Plains, drought is expected to persist or further develop.
To view the Monthly Drought Outlook map, click here.
Oklahoma
According to data as of Nov. 10 to Nov. 16, 2021, drought conditions in Oklahoma have slightly deteriorated. The largest change was with extreme drought conditions or worse, which more than doubled since last week's Drought Monitor report. Severe drought conditions or worse deteriorated, changing from 10.8% to 11.1%. Moderate drought conditions or worse increased from 36.7% to 37.2%. Abnormally dry conditions or worse increased from 77.27% to 77.34%.
Cimarron County is feeling the worst of drought conditions. Extreme drought conditions are also reported in Beaver, Harper and Woods counties. Severe drought conditions remain in the Panhandle, northwest and southwest areas in the state and the Tulsa area.
The 6-to-10-day precipitation outlook map shows southern Oklahoma is likely to receive above-normal precipitation, while northern Oklahoma is set to receive normal amounts of precipitation. The 6-to-10-day temperature outlook map shows Oklahomans can expect higher-than-normal temperatures in the western half of the state, while the eastern half will see normal temperatures for this time of year.
While conditions remain dry in Oklahoma, the state has entered its fire season.
To view the Oklahoma drought map, click here.
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