Oklahoma Drought Monitor 09/08/2015: Drought Spreads

8 years ago

I've linked the Oklahoma Drought Monitor Map for this week below. The updated map is released on Thursday of each week, but only includes moisture recorded prior to the cutoff time of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, so rain that falls after that time is not reflected on the map until the following week.

Drought continues to spread northward and westward from southern OK, and most locations in southern OK did not get enough rain this week to really affect the drought conditions in any sort of meaningful way, so I don't think we'll see many positive changes in this map next week either.

This week's Oklahoma Drought Monitor Map

I also am going to link the whole U. S. Drought Monitor Map just to show how much better off we are than the entire western portion of the U.S.A., which is mired in the same kind of multiyear drought that plagued some portions of OK for the last few years. When you look at this map, it is easy to understand why the western wildfires have been so prolific and horrific this year. I hope that El Nino brings them some relief. Unfortunately, drought relief is a two-edged sword often accompanied by flooding.

U. S. Drought Monitor Map

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Comments (3)

chickencoupe
8 years ago
Feel so sorry for California. I'm sorry you're smack into the drought area that seems minute in comparison.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
8 years ago
Our drought is minor and will pass. I'm not happy about it, but it is fairly typical any more for us to spend a portion of every year in some degree of drought no matter how rainy the rest of the year has been or ends up being. We have greened up a bit since the rain fell, and already were greening up some just because the temperatures are milder now. Heat is almost as responsible as drought for the browning of grasses and forbs, so we get relief just when the heat drops even if it doesn't rain much.

I was out at a fire thing yesterday for about 5 or 5.5 hours and it was just about 3 or 3.5 miles from our house. I was shocked at how dry the area was despite the recent rainfall. Granted, the soil surface was moist but the plants still were dry, dry, dry.

California? Oh my. I have no words. I look at how widespread and how deep their drought is and wonder how long the plants, wildlife and people can hang on with such low moisture. I know there are people in some areas whose wells have run dry and who are having to buy all their water and have it trucked in (if they have tanks to hold it) or have to haul it home in buckets or jugs. I can't imagine that. It is one thing to buy water if your water system is having trouble and the water, though technically meeting standards, is just crappy and looks bad or tastes bad so you choose to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking. (There's a lot of that in SE OK this year). It escalates to a whole new level, though, if you're having to truck in water for bathing and doing laundry and dishes.

The western wildfires have been so awful all summer, and will go on for several more months yet, and not just in Cali but in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, etc. I bet some areas haven't had relatively clean air for months, and breathing in smoke all the time is so unhealthy. I hope El Nino brings them rain and drought relief, but we all know that it takes monster rains to end a monster drought, and the heavy rainfall they need will bring with it a lot of flooding, landslides, etc. and probably lots of heartache and heartbreak. On the other hand, if El Nino were somehow to oddly peter out or drop the rain in places it is not expected and then miss the areas that really need the rain, how long can California and the rest of the west carry on without drought relief? So, I hope El Nino helps them a lot and doesn't hurt them too much.
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stockergal
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I am going to comment on the California drought and I apologize before if offend anyone. California has to learn you cannot take desert and make a garden state without dire consequences. They have used water at such an unpresidented rate that it had to catchup with them. They have almost destroyed the Colorado river and sues any other state that tries to use more than California thinks they should. Several of the western states have current cases pending in the Supreme Court over water rights. California has bullied any state that tries to restricts thier use. They are going to,have to go to all natural landscaping and forgo the cottage gardens. This is also aimed at the farming industry in California not just the average joe. You cannot produce fruits and vegetables in a desert, the water they use is unsustainable. So to relieve the Colorado water they have begun to drill water wells. However they are using the ground water faster than it can be replaced, so now we have began to see large sink holes in California. Oklahoma you might want to take heed on the ground water issue.

I am not heartless I hope the El Niño blesses them, however this will all happen again because not even a winter of unpresidented rain and snow will save them.

and yes we could all learn from what is happening out west.

Oklahoma Drought Monitor 09/08/2015: Drought Spreads

Comments (3)

chickencoupe

Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author

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Oklahoma Drought Monitor 09/08/2015: Drought Spreads

Comments (3)

chickencoupe

Okiedawn OK Zone 7Original Author

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stockergal

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Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author