I am so excited for the rain and cooler temperatures too, Dawn! We are supposed to get around 2.5" here. Now we will see how much of our compost pile washes away to the creek behind our house. I had better remember to bring the rosemary inside too. I don't think it would like that much water too much!

Charlotte

Dawn, you are pretty close to the center of that predicted heavy rain area, so I think it is safe to say you should get some good rain even if the prediction is off a bit.

We were on the edge of the last prediction, but now are up another inch on the prediction. A little bit of movement and it could change a lot. Time to spread the clover and ryegrass seed. Summer is over.

I am just hoping that it does not die out before it hits Durant....

Sure hope we get the 1.5" they show for us. That certainly won't make our garden a lake. But it would mean that the kids won't have to water so much while we are gone on vacation next week.

I think it is good news, right now a lake is worth a lot more than a garden.

I am going out to plant some seed this evening.

What a relief this is!

Jay? Dawn? I'm going to be impatient. Is Jay getting any? I see the storm is well up into Kansas.

The radar this morning looked like Dawn was a shoe-in for a good rain. Then it all died out. Did you get anything other than wind, Dawn?

We will end up with about half an inch or a bit less in this storm that is over us now. Nothing at the farm, though.

I don't think Jay got much today, but I wasn't looking for most of the day. I hope I'm wrong.

This is just round one of 4 or 5 rounds in the next few days. Wouldn't three inches be nice by the time this is over!?

I got nothing, zero, zilch, nada. A big fat 0.0". Rain went to our east and west, dodging us every time.

I'm at the point where even an inch of rain sounds good. We have a big VFD fundraiser this weekend, and it would be easier and more pleasant if the parking lot is not a mud pit. Of course, we'll deal with whatever we get.

We do have rain-cooled air, so I was able to work outside in temperatures in the 60s and 70s instead of the 80s. That part of it was nice.

All along our local TV mets kept talking about the NWS rain forecast and saying things like "I'm not feeling it". lol I was hoping they were wrong when they cautioned that they thought most of us would get a lot less than was forecast and the showers would be highly scattered. So far, they're looking like geniuses.

Kfinkle, Are y'all getting anything over there in Durant? I can see some big old clouds far, far east of us and am wondering if they are where you are?

Dawn

We got some thunder. I planted some beet seed and rained them in with the water hose. I am expecting some rain, I hope we get at least an inch, but will be happy to get any.

The local weather stations reported .7" this morning, but it is raining now - a steady, slow rain - just like I LOVE it! Don't know that it will raise the total that much, but I appreciate every single drop. I did notice on the 3 day forecast, that the chance of rain percentages were lower than the morning forecast. Hmmmmm. Mother Nature sure is fickle, but I am kind of chuckling at the ONE thing we truly cannot get totally right yet, despite all the knowledge and tech stuff they employ today. HeeHeeHeeHeeHeeHee......Bwah ha ha ha ha ha.

Hey, Larry, what seeds ya plantin?

Susan

Its raining here! Im so excited! Right now it doesn't look like we are going to get a whole lot, but I'll take every drop we can get.

Josh

While weeding, planting and doing other garden chores, I found some fire ants. It was not a fun experience. So, when I watered the young seedlings, I went out of my way to create a gigantic flood in the area where the fire ants were located. If they rebuild that mound tomorrow, I'll sprinkle some organic fire ant killer on the rebuilt mound.

I'm pretty sure we aren't going to get the 3.9" of rain the QPF showed for our area, but I am trying to be patient and see what develops over the next few days. At least it isn't 100 degrees any more. That alone is a huge improvement.

On the CBS Evening News tonight they had a story about the drought and the Arkansas River and showed footage shot from a helicopter in the Tulsa area to show how little water is in the river now. All those sand bars in the river and the astonishing lack of water in it sure did remind me of the good old Red River of the south, and not in a good way.

This week's Oklahoma Drought Monitor looks almost exactly like last week's, so I didn't bother linking it. I don't think I'll link it again until it shows some sort of significant change.

Dawn

I had to run out and check the rain gauge before it got dark and only .2 inches so far... Hopefully I can get some more over the next couple of days. Boy does it feel good out there though! My DH is 8 months pregnant and has been burning up this summer. She is completely elated about the "cold" wind.

Dawn, I think the Arkansas River looks that way most years at this time of year except during the hours they are releasing water from lake Keystone. One interesting note about this year is that the water level was never at full release from keystone that I am aware of and I drive across it 3 or 4 days per week. Two or three years ago it ran at full capacity from spring all the way until about July 4 or so if memory serves.

It is amazing how few big rain events we have had since July 4, 2010. We built our big pond that fall and we have had only 3 storm systems give us 2+ inches of rain in the 24 months since. We have had no runoff whatsoever except for two times in two years, but fortunately those two were really big storms, giving just over 3 inches and just over 5 inches.

If I am not mistaken the evening news said something about farmers in Kansas were unable to get water from the Arkansas River because about 200 miles of it was dry. I did not catch all the story but it looked like that part of Kansas was almost bone dry.

Any this morning, Dawn? Doesn't look like anything more than clouds on the radar. Can always hope.

bon

Only sprinkles for us thus far. Hope everyone who needs it gets a good rain.

I don't have a rain gauge set up, nor am I at home to read it. But at Northeastern State University we are getting a thorough soaking this morning! It has to have gone over an inch. I've gotten soaked, just taking care of a couple of things outside, while trying to "dodge the rain."

George

I am getting a great rain. We got close to a half inch yesterday, then it started again about 4 AM. It is a nice slow rain with an occasional heavier burst. Looks like we will get at least 2 inches for the 24 hour total. I can see a few puddles in the road, but most is soaking in right where it falls, so it will do a lot of good. I am grateful.

We got a little mist yesterday, not even enough to hardly feel. It is misting a little harder this morning, still not enough to wet the ground.

Susan. I planted Detroit Red, Early wonder beets, and something that listed as Beet, Swiss Chard. I had already planted 9 Napa Chinese cabbage. Madge brought in 18 Packman broccoli plants which look pitiful. The Co-op thought they had sold all their plants, but found these that had fallen or got pushed behind something. I will try to get them to looking better and then plant them. I want to get as much planted because of the rain chances we have for the next few days.

Larry

Took off to Tahlequah for a couple hours where it rained lightly off and on. Came home to find 1.7" in the gauge. Yay, the most rain at one time since early June.

Dorothy, that is great and it looks like you may get a little more. I thought ours was going to end, but it continues as a light rain and our 24 hour total is up to 2.82 inches. I love it.

Scott, I didn't realize the Arkansas River ever got as low as the Red River gets about 9 years out of 10. (I think 2007 was the last year the Red River was above average for months and months.) I thought y'all always had oodles of rain and stayed green up there! (OK, that is true most years if not this year.) On that news report I think they said the Arkansas River was at 5% of its normal capacity, and as Larry noted, in some areas there is no water to release to irrigate the farm land, compounding the drought conditions.

I hope all of y'all got wonderful, wonderful rain.

We didn't have wonderful rain at all, and I don't think I'll trust the HPC's QPF the next time it shows something wonderful like 3.9". I'll just shrug and say, "I remember last time....."

We've had mist so light that you barely feel it even when you're standing outside in it. There must have been rain early this morning because the porch steps were wet and there was 0.10" in the rain gauge. It has been very cool and pleasant and that is great for the cool-season veggies in the fall garden.

While I am disappointed we didn't get significant rainfall, I think that things always work out in the end, so clearly we just weren't meant to get the rain the HPC predicted. We have our annual fundraiser for our VFD tomorrow, and the last thing we need is rain and mud because part of it involves outdoor cooking, so now I am (perversely, I know) hoping it doesn't rain a lot tonight and tomorrow. (I hope saying that doesn't make it pour.....)

I can see from looking at the Mesonet rainfall map that some of you received wonderful, wonderful rainfall. That's terrific. It is great to see rainfall on the map. Hopefully our autumn rainy season has begun for much of the state.

For us? The weather hasn't been as brutally dry here in 2012 as it has been in some other parts of the state, so we're okay even without this rainfall. Our ground is still cracked and the ponds are still empty, but the grass in the yard, if not in the pastures, is still mostly green, and some autumn wildflowers are blooming. We have a lot of chances for rain in the next few days.

Dawn

Just an update on my rainfall amount. I received 2 tenths total. That was after both the Amarillo and Dodge City sites showed us right in the middle of the heaviest rainfall amounts. They had predicted 1.50 inches. The track turned and stayed south of us. The good rains were in the Texas Panhandle and then traveled over into the eastern OK Panhandle. They got good rains in eastern CO but they traveled NE and missed us. Glad there are some getting good rains. I'm trying to prepare my garlic bed now. I'm down to about 6 inches and it is dry as a bone. I had till the top 4-5 inches deep just before it was supposed to rain. I'm going to dig the trench this year like Martin suggests and fill it with horse manure compost with some mushroom compost mixed in on top. I decided to string a soaker hose back out and water the bottom of the trench good tonight. So I can till the compost in better after I add it tomorrow. Jay

Traveling along 33 this afternoon I strained to see the Cimarron River bed through the passenger window. Water has risen only slightly but the green water grass was standing tall and proud as egrets flitted about signifying renewed life. New grass blades are visible amongst the burn countryside as well. The driver was a fireman and he reminded me "it's nature's way of taking care of things".

I still worry about my trees, though. lol

Dawn, I hate to say it - It's probably going to rain a bit tomorrow. LOL Geez, right?

Dawn, the Arkansas river level upstream from lake Keystone is totally dependent on rain runoff and is the part that is so much lower than usual. In the Tulsa area (where they were taking the video) and downstream to Muskogee the water level fluctuates a little due to rainfall in the area, but mostly is dependent on how much water is being released from Keystone. By late summer the river usually looks pretty similar to how it does now since by that time of year they only release the bare minimum. Other than a few industrial plants, I don't know if the water from Keystone to Muskogee gets used. After Muskogee it becomes part of the shipping channel with locks and dams so it looks like a true river from there to the Mississippi.

We picked up a little over an inch here. It's looking like we may not get much more unfortunately. With temps not getting to 90 anymore, this will take us until the pecans are mature.

Jay, If it will make you feel better, you got twice as much rain at your house as we got at ours. The cooler weather sure is nice and the fall garden plants haven't wilted and drooped and looked pathetic in at least the last 48 hours. What a nice difference the temperatures in the 60s and 70s make. We'll likely be back in the 90s soon, but will enjoy the cool air temps while they last.

Bon, No, no, no. No rain is allowed to fall here until this time tomorrow. The fire station is spotless, including the floors, and all the fire trucks are washed and polished and shiny and pretty. We don't need no stinkin' rain to fall here for the next 24 hours. It is hard to have a cookout for a couple hundred people in the rain. If rain falls, we'll work around it somehow, and no one will complain because the rain is needed. The way our luck has been running this week, I am not expecting to see much, if any, wet stuff falling from the skies.

Scott, I am glad you've had enough moisture to carry the pecans to maturity.

Thanks for the explanation about the Arkansas River. I didn't know it depended entirely on runoff at that end of it. No wonder it looked so awful in that news story.

I have little experience with big or fast-moving rivers, although every now and then the Trinity River would get a little rowdy and wild and flood a little bit when we lived in Fort Worth. I think we've only had a couple of years since moving here that the Red River was really high and running fast, and I guess the last time was in 2007 when we had all that flooding. It did have a pretty good water level in part of 2010 too, but it wasn't at flood stage. Mostly it is so low by mid-summer you can walk across it, going from sandbar to sandbar in some places without ever touching water....and that's in a normal year. This year wasn't as bad as last year, but neither year was a good year for the Red River in the summer months.

We have a new pasture on our place that is full of green grass and wildflowers out west of the barn. The only problem is that it is supposed to be a pond, though you'd never know it to look at it right now.

Dawn

2.15 inches total here. I could do with some sun for a day or two now, but would not complain a bit if it kept on raining. All the ponds around here just look terrible.

Got another 1.3" overnight bringing our total to 3". And the best part? It came so slow and steady that it all soaked in. Hope everyone who needed some got some.

I think I am the big winner here. For the 3 day total, we are at 3.78 and still a little mist in the air. Like Dorothy's, ours has been slow light rain most of the time with periodic burst of heavier rainfall, so it is soaking in just fine. I was a D4 drought area, so really needed this rain.

I picked black eyed peas, green beans, squash, and a lot of peppers today. This rain should bring on a lot more, but I also have a healthy crop of squash bugs and mosquitoes.

Can't give an accurate measurement. But I'm sure we received about an inch, just between 5 AM and sunset, yesterday. In a bucket, out in the garden, I found over 3", which would have been the total rainfall Friday and Saturday.

George

Hooray for all you NE OK gardners who finally got the kind of rainfall that is measured in inches. Multiple inches! Y'all still have a huge deficit though, so need a lot more.

If y'all are the rainfall winners, we're the losers down here with 0.15". While I am not thrilled about that low rainfall, at least we won't have a huge mosquito hatch like we had after 3" of rain in fell over about 4 days in August. With West Nile Virus being so bad this year, the last thing we want is more mosquitoes. A friend of ours has been hospitalized with West Nile Virus, and it is so much more awful than you can imagine. Until this year, I didn't realize what a truly wicked virus it is.

Dawn

We only got the Friday rain here in the Tulsa area were I am. A little over an inch. A couple of times we got sprinkles yesterday and today, but nothing measurable. Temps and soil are both perfect. If not for the empty ponds, everything is really good.

I'm glad things are looking up, Scott. I've learned to live with empty ponds, but that doesn't mean I am happy about it. It is just that I've learned it doesn't do one bit of good to fret and worry about it. I do keep my lily pond full with the water hose, but it is just a small backyard pond. Because it has fish in it to eat mosquito larvae, we don't let its water level drop too much. Anyhow, it is hard to water lilies to grow well without water.

This week the temperatures look pretty nice, but we only have a 20% chance of rain on one day so it is starting to look like it will be a dry September for us.

Y'all, I'm going to link today's Keetch-Byram Dtought Index page. Look at the improvement in the numbers in many areas!

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Today's KBDI Map

Burn ban is no longer in affect for several counties. I was really hoping I could burn this week, but oh well we will just keep hauling trash to town. Maybe if we get some more rain in the next couple, but after this summer i'm not holding my breath.

Here is a link that might be useful: burn ban map

I am so glad the burn band has been lifted for some of you.

I live in the western edge of Arkansas, about 4 to 6 weeks ago every county in Arkansas was under a burn band. The band is lifted in every county now. Many ponds and streams are low, or dry, but my surface soil is in good shape.

Larry

We are very glad to see ours lifted because we have so much to burn that was left over from the storm. Some became firewood, and some was taken to the county dumping place for limbs and things, but there are a lot of leaves and sticks and limbs that fell later. I may not be able to breath here tomorrow from all of the burning I expect to happen in the neighborhood. We have a huge stack in our yard that we need to burn.

When we have a county burn ban, our commissioners usually lift it once our KBDI drops below 600. I don't know that the OFS uses that same criteria when making recommendations to Gov. Fallin, but I have been expecting them to lift the ban for some counties for a couple of weeks now, so the move didn't surprise me.

We are having small fires in our county, but nothing that has gotten the least bit rowdy or out-of-control lately, so I think that they could lift even our burn ban (our KBDI is 661 this morning) right now (which they did not), and we wouldn't have serious wildfire trouble at this point in time. The trouble will come after you have a few frosts and killing freezes if it is still very dry and then you have all that dry, standing vegetation which will burn easily whether it is dead annual vegetation or dormant perennial vegetation. We need to have a really wet fall and winter so that the winter fire season isn't bad.

Nothing about our soil is in good shape, Larry, except where I've been watering in the veggie garden and around the fruit trees. We're starting to see cracks in the soil near the house where we haven't had them before, so today and tomorrow I'm going to try to water long and hard in those areas to try and get those cracks to close back up. I'll probably have to water a while, let it soak in, then water again, etc. You know how hard it is to get clay to absorb water when it is rock-hard.

Carol, I imagine it will be a real relief to everyone to be able to burn that piled up wood from the big storm that hit your area. As long as it is sitting there, it is such a fire hazard. I'd rather be able to burn that stuff deliberately and have it under control than to have a raging wildfire burn through the area and get it.

Some of the Texas counties have been lifting their burn bans here and there along the river. One county made the announcement lifting their burn ban, then said that people should NOT go out and burn brush or do prescribed burning of land for brush removal because it still was too dry to burn. That made me wonder why they lifted the burn ban if they were going to stand there and say "but don't do any burning". That whole thing made no sense.

Dawn

Our KBDI dropped to 194, the lowest in the State. We went from one of the highest to the lowest in record time. LOL

I've been watching your KBDI and was astonished at how quickly it fell.

I noticed that the Tulsa County commissioners have enacted a county burn ban, so all the folks in Tulsa cannot burn their brush piles yet.

Dawn, the morning weather guy was teasing this morning that there is a chance of a "drought buster" next week. Something about a tropical storm they are watching.... long way out, but we can hope!

Lisa

Lisa,

I hope they are right. I've been too busy with the fall garden to watch the weather very much....well, except for watching the weather outside around me in the garden, where it has been warm, windy and dry with very, very low relative humidity. Yesterday our RH bottomed out at 17%, which is awfully low for this time of year.

I hope your weather guy is right! I'll have to go over to the Weather Underground website and see if Dr. Masters is blogging yet about whatever the models are showing might develop.

This week we are seeing new cracks in the ground all around the house where the soil never cracked last year, even though our KBDI came perilously close to 800. Today it is only 663, but new cracks are appearing daily. I think we maxed out last year at 776 and we didn't see the cracks we're seeing right now. They are in areas where we've never had the ground crack before even in a year when less than 19" of rain fell. I expect we're seeing the effect of back-to-back drought years that have depleted deeper soil moisture much more than I thought was occurring.

I hate to "wish" for a tropical storm or hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast just so we can get moisture, but if one is going to hit it anyway, then I hope it sends big bands of rain our way.

Our weather guys are singing the "high pressure blues" and telling us that we'll have a gorgeous, though dry, week this week but they aren't saying much about next week yet.

Dawn