Oh Jay!
You get to have all the fun!

WOW!

This reminds me of a few months ago when we a tornado watch and an earthquake on the same day. Oklahoma weather is just AWFUL.

Jo

Jay, Any moisture is good, but I sure was hoping this system would bring you good heavy rainfall there just like what we had here last week.

For the first time since July, Love County is not in "drought" on the U. S. Drought Monitor map. I cannot even remember the last time your part of KS was not on the Drought Monitor map.

I've been watching the rainfall and the mesonet maps, and some parts of NW OK are getting a lot of rain, which is great for them.

Jo, Well, often the Oklahoma weather is awful but some times it is pretty wonderful. We had a beautiful day here yesterday and I worked in the garden for hours. It is raining now.

And, for anyone in SW or west-central OK, check your local weather because quite a few counties have a Tornado Watch in effect for today.

Dawn

True, Dawn.

We had a light sprinkle here and the temp is gorgeous.

Leah ripped off every stitch of clothing to go outside and play naked in the rain.

Jo

Jay, Looks like it mostly skipped over you, then dumped a lot of rain, up to 4 inches in some spots. It didn't make it to us last night, but we are very cloudy today and it appears we are going to get some of it.

Just as I was typing that, the wind kicked up and it is bringing a good rain, but it is from a tiny little cloud, but there is more to come. From looking at the map, it looks like we will have short down pours all day but not continuous rain. A friend just called from Joplin and he said that they had driven in and out of rain as they drove from Grove to Joplin, so it is spotty, but wet, and wet is good. So far this year, we haven't had much rain, but it will come, I'm sure.

I had just put a tray of onion and leeks outside since it was cloudy and 57 degrees. Well, I don't have to water those tonight.

Jo, Kids sure do know how to show their appreciation for a nice rain shower, don't they? It is raining harder here now and has cooled off a smidgen, but after last summer's drought and heat, I am not going to complain.

Carol, We had a few minutes of thunder and lighting and hard rain, but it didn't last long. Now we have the best kind of rain, a slow, soaking rain. On top of last week's rain, my garden will be a lake again, but I don't mind that, or I don't mind it too much. I'd be aggravated if the garden is a lake in April, but not in February.

And, for everyone in OK formerly covered by the Tornado Watch, it has disappeared from the NWS page, so apparently is no longer in effect.

If this rain keeps up for a few more weeks, we'll be in great shape in terms of soil moisture for spring planting.

Dawn

The rain stopped. The sun came out. It was beautiful.

Then, the NWS issued a Tornado Watch in effect through 8 PM for parts of south-central OK.

I guess that means the sunshine won't last long.

I just hope a tornado doesn't swirl through here and rip my onions out of the ground.

Dawn, I was just going to tell you that I could see another one headed you way, then I finished reading the thread. Hunker down! LOL

I have got to go rescue my one planted flat before the rain gets here again. They have had plenty of water today and even on a cloudy day they get more light than the inside shelves provide.

We received a little over half an inch of moisture. Which is on the high end in this area.Once you get 70 miles of so east then amounts picked up considerably. Beaver got 9 tenths. I'm thankful for all we have received. It wet down what had dried out over the last few weeks since the snow melted. Hopefully we will keep receiving some. I read a long term forecast of NWS meteorologist for this area. He said starting this weekend he felt we would see the temps cool down some. Maybe still above normal but not the unseasonable high temps we've experienced over the last few weeks. Something tells me that between the 10th and 15th we could see some colder temps. He says the LaNina is weakening. And by late spring/early summer we should see rainfall pick up and he feels certain we won't see the extreme heat we experienced last season. I'm going to continue along the line of it will be dry early. And play it from there. I will set out things earlier if conditions allow. I plan on using more protection this year. Wall O Waters and lots of plastic buckets and cans. If my tomatoes will do better and the other crops do as well as last season I will be one happy camper. Jay

Carol, No tornadoes, and the Tornado Watch was cancelled for us, but moved to counties further east, after the last line of storms rolled through. We had full-fledged thunderstorms, complete with a few minutes of heavy rain and hail, but not enough hail to damage anything.

The lakes of standing rainwater on our property merged and starting moving, so now you could say "a river runs through it". Tim and I were looking out a second-story window and watching the river of rainwater just flow through the property behind the barn. That water was headed for the big pond and for the overflow pond that is on lower ground in the woods behind it. When that overflow pond gets full, it then overflows into a normally dry seasonal creek that carries the water to our big creek. From the big creek, it flows down to the Red River. It didn't even rain an inch total today, but the ground was super-saturated from all the rain in January, so none of today's rain could soak in. All 5 ponds have all the water they can hold, except the largest pond and I bet it is pretty full, but I didn't go look at it before dark because the deer feeding area is near that pond and the deer were out there eating.

Jay, I wish you were getting the rain we're getting here. It is too much, really, for our slowly-draining soil and we have standing water and mud everywhere, but I am not, not, not complaining. I'd rather have flooding than drought.

I probably won't be able to step foot into my water-logged main veggie garden for a month because it is so wet, and water from our neighbor's land that sits higher than the garden will seep underground into the garden for 4-6 weeks, based on previous experience in other months with 4 or more inches of rainfall.

To get around the very wet garden beds, I planted onions in the raised beds in the Peter Rabbit Garden, which is on our highest ground, and may put the potatoes and peas there as well.

Colder weather is expected here for the next week, so instead of being abnormally warm, we're going to be back to normal. Normal is fine, and maybe the night-time lows in the 20s and 30s will stop the plum trees, which are on the verge of blooming any day now.

I'm planting earlier, as the weather allows, and will continue to do so. I'm feeling optimistic about the spring, at least, since we're having ample rainfall. I won't try to guess what summer will be like, but it can only be better than last summer, as I cannot imagine how it could be any worse.

When I looked at the U. S. Drought Monitor yesterday morning, and Love County showed up as "normal", I wasn't surprised because I felt like last week's rain was enough to finally get us out of the drought. However, I know that a dry month or two could put us right back into drought again.

I hope La Nina just hurries up and departs. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a perfectly normal weather year? Well, whatever passes for normal in this part of the country. It seems like we always lurch from "too dry" to "too wet" and then back again.

I've been potting up tomato seedlings today and they just look and smell so good that it makes me very eager for warm-season planting time to roll around.

If the rain continues to fall here in the coming weeks as heavily as it has fallen since the new year started, I'll have trouble planting in the main garden, except for the half of it that is raised beds.

Dawn

I would like to send Jay some of the rain we are getting now. If it ever dries out I will have to go reclaim some of my garden down about Little Rock.

Slowpoke Gardener,
Many farmers and gardeners around here have had their gardens/fields relocate over the last year. Not from water but by the wind. Fortunately I have enough mulch on and worked in mine that it has stayed home. I need to finish working and preparing mine for the upcoming season. I was letting it dry up some after the snow melted. Sounds like the weather might not be fit for working it tomorrow and would probably be too wet also. But by Sunday I might be able too but need to burn tumble weeds also if the wind isn't blowing. Went and bought a permit today. Jay

Jay,

I mudded in some onions before the rain started yesterday knowing it may be my last chance for a month of more. Living in a low area with shallow top soil has special gardening challenges. If I had to wait for my soil to be ready my garden would go in late every year.

Larry

Here in Sapulpa, we got a tad over 1", which is certainly appreciated. There were lots of standing puddles yesterday evening, but since my place is essentially the flat top of a ridge, it drains well.