ORWP will now be sharing 2012 Oklahoma Drought updates from Mesonet & Oklahoma Climatological Survey. This update came to ORWP courtesy of OCS Climatologist Gary McManus.
Spurred by the rapidly intensifying flash drought and its impacts, including the extreme fire danger realized in the state over the last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor has now designated virtually all of Oklahoma in extreme to exceptional drought. Nearly 97 percent of the state is now depicted by the Drought Monitor in those worst two drought intensities, the highest such coverage for the state since the Drought Monitor effort began in 2000. A narrow swath of exceptional drought extends from Cleveland and McClain counties in central Oklahoma to the northwest, where it broadens and covers much of western Kansas. The next highest percentage of extreme to exceptional drought was 93 percent from the same week last year on August 9, 2011.
Read the entire story and check out the Mesonet news page here
See MAP of consecutive days with less than 0.10 inches of rainfall
See MAP of consecutive days with less than 0.25 inches of rainfall