DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
735 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2008
...SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS
OF NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA...
...MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF
NORTH LOUISIANA...
...MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED ACROSS MUCH OF
NORTHEAST TEXAS...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...
SYNOPSIS...
AFTER SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION IN
JUNE, JULY/EARLY AUGUST HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY OPPRESSIVE THIS YEAR,
AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT HAS PERSISTED OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THIS LIMITED THE EFFECT OF THE SEABREEZE
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON THE AREA. HOWEVER, PERSISTENT UPPER
TROUGHING ACROSS THE PLAINS OVER THE LAST WEEK AND A HALF HAS
RESULTED IN AMPLE RAINFALL ACROSS MUCH OF THE FOUR STATE REGION,
WITH WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF FOUR TO EIGHT INCHES, WITH SOME
LOCATIONS ACROSS THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF NORTHEAST TEXAS AS WELL AS
SOUTHCENTRAL ARKANSAS RECEIVING NEARLY ELEVEN INCHES OF RAIN. THESE
ABUNDANT RAINFALL AMOUNTS, COUPLE WITH MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES,
HAVE ELIMINATED DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA,
SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS, AND THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF EAST TEXAS. HOWEVER,
THE AUGUST 19TH ISSUANCE OF THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR MAINTAINS
SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS (D2) ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF
NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA...GENERALLY SOUTH OF A CONVERSE, TO CAMPTI,
TO WINNFIELD AND COLUMBIA LINE, WHICH OBSERVED ONLY TWO TO FOUR
INCHES OF RAIN. MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST ACROSS THE
REMAINDER OF NORTH LOUISIANA, INCLUDING THE CITIES OF SHREVEPORT,
BOSSIER CITY, MINDEN, AND JONESBORO. EIGHT TO TEN INCHES OF RAIN,
WHICH FELL IN THE LAST WEEK AND A HALF IN FARMERVILLE AND
MONROE/WEST MONROE, HAS LOWERED DROUGHT CONDITIONS TO ABNORMALLY DRY
(D0) STATUS.
AS A RESULT OF THESE RECENT RAINS, TOPSOIL MOISTURE IS NEAR NORMAL
OR ABNORMALLY WET, WHICH HAS ALLOWED FOR AMPLE GREENING OF
VEGETATION. THIS HAS IN TURN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED FIRE DANGER
ACROSS THE REGION, ALTHOUGH SEVERAL COMMUNITIES IN EAST TEXAS
CONTINUE TO ENACT WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES AMONG ITS RESIDENTS.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS.
THE RECENT RAINFALL HAS IMPROVED PASTURE CONDITIONS TO THE POINT
WHERE ANOTHER CUTTING OF HAY WILL BE POSSIBLE. LANDSCAPES ARE ALSO
RECOVERING FROM THE RECENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS, TO THE POINT WHERE
DAMAGED GRASSES ARE BEGINNING TO GREEN AGAIN.
FIRE DANGER IMPACTS.
FIRE DANGER IS LOW ACROSS ALL OF EAST TEXAS, SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS,
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA, AND MUCH OF NORTH LOUISIANA. THE KEETCH-BYRAM
DROUGHT INDEX UPDATED IN THE LAST FEW DAYS INDICATES THAT VALUES
HAVE IMPROVED SLIGHTLY TO THE 400 TO 600 RANGE ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH
LOUISIANA, WHILE VALUES HAVE FALLEN BELOW 300 ACROSS MUCH OF EAST
TEXAS. THE BURN BANS THAT WERE IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST
ARKANSAS, AS WELL AS SEVERAL PARISHES IN NORTH LOUISIANA AND EAST
TEXAS, HAVE BEEN LIFTED IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT HEAVY RAINFALL.
CURRENT WATER RESTRICTIONS.
DESPITE THE RECENT RAINFALL, SEVERAL COMMUNITIES IN EAST TEXAS
CONTINUE TO ENACT WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES AMONG ITS RESIDENTS.
THESE INCLUDE THE CITIES OF WHITEHOUSE, BULLARD, KILGORE, AND
SCOTTSVILLE.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...
DURING JUNE AND JULY, MANY LOCATIONS EXPERIENCED BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION. THIS WAS EXACERBATED IN JULY, WHERE MUCH OF THE AREA
EXPERIENCED MONTHLY RAINFALL DEPARTURES TWO TO FOUR INCHES BELOW
NORMAL. BELOW IS A LIST OF MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS FOR JUNE AND
JULY, THEIR DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL, AND JULY PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL,
FOR SELECTED CITIES IN THE FOUR STATE REGION:
CITY: JUNE: JULY: JULY PERCENTAGE
OF NORMAL
SHREVEPORT, LA 3.85 (-1.20) 1.08 (-2.91) 27%
MONROE, LA 2.12 (-2.35) 2.32 (-1.18) 66%
TEXARKANA, AR 4.17 (-0.43) 1.17 (-2.61) 31%
REMARKS: 20TH DRIEST JULY ON RECORD; RECORDS SINCE 1892
EL DORADO, AR 7.04 (+1.86) 0.27 (-3.86) 7%
REMARKS: DRIEST JULY ON RECORD; RECORDS SINCE 1905
DEQUEEN, AR 6.31 (+1.66) 1.23 (-2.84) 30%
REMARKS: 15TH DRIEST JULY ON RECORD; RECORDS SINCE 1936
TYLER, TX 4.67 (+1.02) 0.09 (-2.07) 4%
REMARKS: TIED FOR 5TH DRIEST JULY ON RECORD; RECORDS SINCE 1896
LONGVIEW, TX 3.63 (-1.29) 0.85 (-2.27) 27%
REMARKS: 21ST DRIEST JULY ON RECORD; RECORDS SINCE 1902
LUFKIN, TX 5.14 (+0.96) 2.16 (-0.44) 83%
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MESONET STATIONS...
MT. HERMAN 8.46 (+3.86) 0.48 (-3.80) 11%
BROKEN BOW 6.04 (+1.44) 0.27 (-4.01) 6%
IDABEL 4.55 (+0.18) 1.03 (-2.62) 28%
HOWEVER, PERSISTENT HEAVY RAINFALL HAS RESULTED IN LARGE SURPLUSES
IN AUGUST MONTHLY RAINFALL. LISTED BELOW ARE THE AUGUST MONTHLY
RAINFALL TOTALS (THROUGH THE 22ND), THEIR DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL, AND
PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL, FOR SELECTED CITIES IN THE FOUR STATE REGION:
CITY: AUGUST TOTAL: AUGUST DEPARTURE AUGUST PERCENTAGE
FROM NORMAL: OF NORMAL:
SHREVEPORT, LA 4.48 +2.54 231%
MONROE, LA 8.11 +6.12 408%
TEXARKANA, AR 5.48 +3.85 336%
EL DORADO, AR 8.34 +6.02 359%
DEQUEEN, AR 3.14 +1.60 204%
TYLER, TX 11.22 +9.42 623%
LONGVIEW, TX 5.30 +3.45 286%
LUFKIN, TX 6.29 +4.24 307%
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MESONET STATIONS...
MT. HERMAN 7.56 +5.76 420%
BROKEN BOW 6.28 +4.48 349%
IDABEL 5.05 +3.48 322%
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
THE EASTERN SECTIONS OF NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA MAY SEE SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF
TROPICAL STORM FAY SUNDAY AND MONDAY, AS SHE DRIFTS WEST INTO
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA. HOWEVER, ONLY ISOLATED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE DURING THIS TIME
PERIOD, WITH RAINFALL BECOMING EVEN MORE SCARCE FOR MUCH OF NEXT
WEEK.
THE LATE SUMMER/EARLY FALL OUTLOOK THROUGH NOVEMBER, ISSUED BY
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC), INDICATES SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL
PROBABILITIES FOR HIGHER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS ALL OF THE
FOUR STATE REGION, WITH EQUAL CHANCES FOR BELOW NORMAL, NORMAL, AND
ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL DURING THIS TIME. THE U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT
OUTLOOK DOES CONTINUE TO SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT TO CURRENT DROUGHT
CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTH LOUISIANA THROUGH NOVEMBER.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
AFTER A FAIRLY WET SPRING DURING 2008, ALL AREA RESERVOIRS ACROSS EAST
TEXAS, SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA, SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS, AND NORTHERN LOUISIANA
FILLED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CONSERVATION POOL STAGES THROUGH MID MAY.
EVERY RESERVOIR ACROSS THE SHREVEPORT HYDROLOGIC SERVICE AREA REMAINS
WITHIN 85 PERCENT OF CONSERVATION POOL STAGE.
AREA RIVERS AND BAYOUS CONTINUE TO RECEDE TO STAGES AND STREAMFLOWS
NEAR NORMAL FOR LATE SUMMER. WITH WATER SUPPLIES STILL FAIRLY
ABUNDANT, THIS CURRENT DROUGHT REMAINS PRIMARILY CONFINED TO
AGRICULTURAL, WILDFIRE, AND VOLUNTARY WATER CONSERVATION IMPACTS.
NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
AN UPDATED DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT IS SCHEDULED TO BE ISSUED
DURING THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER...FOLLOWING THE
SEPTEMBER 4TH/11TH ISSUANCE OF THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR.
RELATED WEB SITES...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT HOMEPAGE:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/
NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM:
http://www.drought.gov/
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR:
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER:
http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
LA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY:
http://www.losc.lsu.edu/
TX OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY:
http://www.met.tamu.edu/osc/
OK CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY:
http://climate.ok.gov/
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY:
http://water.usgs.gov/
TEXAS A&M AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS-AGNEWS:
http://agnews.tamu.edu/
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...
THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR FACILITATES COLLABORATION AMONGST VARIOUS
AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, STATE CLIMATOLOGISTS,
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER, AND THE U.S. DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER.
INFORMATION FROM THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS/FAA OBSERVATION
SITES, THE USDA, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, USGS, TEXAS FOREST SERVICE, TEXAS
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION CENTER, ARKANSAS FORESTRY COMMISSION, AND THE
OKLAHOMA FORESTRY SERVICES.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION
STATEMENT, PLEASE CONTACT:
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE
5655 HOLLYWOOD AVE.
SHREVEPORT, LA 71109
PHONE: (318) 631-3669
EMAIL: SR-SHV.webmaster@noaa.gov
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