Drought
conditions, which began during the middle springtime months
of 2005, continued to worsen through the fall/winter months
across much of the Four State Region, with much below
normal rainfall occurring since October, 2005. However,
it should be noted that Hurricane
Rita, which made landfall near Cameron, LA during
the early morning hours of September 24th, produced widespread
2 to 4 inch rainfall amounts, with a narrow swath of 5
to 12 inch totals along the path of the center of circulation
from Deep East Texas into extreme Northwest Louisiana
(see adjacent image), tracking from just east of Lufkin,
TX, across Shreveport, LA while weakening. Because of
the excessive rainfall that fell from this hurricane,
September rainfall totals were near/above normal in most
locations, although very little rainfall fell before/after
this storm impacted the area.
The Fall and Winter months of 2005-06 have
also continued the trend of above normal average temperatures,
especially October, where many locations recorded not
only very little rainfall, but fell into the top 15 warmest
Octobers ever on record. The lack of rainfall and warm
temperatures has aided in the worsening of the drought,
with the U.S.
Drought Monitor upgrading Northeast Texas north of
Interstate 20, Southeast Oklahoma, and adjacent sections
of Southwest Arkansas into Exceptional Drought status,
the most crippling drought classification ever. Extreme
Drought conditions prevailed farther south across much
of the rest of East Texas, Northwest Louisiana, and the
remainder of Southwest Arkansas, while Severe to Moderate
Drought conditions continued elsewhere across Deep East
Texas and Northcentral Louisiana. These very dry conditions
have contributed to the growth of many wildfires which
have been ignited over the region, fueled by additional
brush/dead plants that were killed off by the freezing
temperatures which occurred in November and December.
Strong winds and very low afternoon relative humidities
have also aided in the development/spread of these wildfires,
with county/parishwide burn bans
in place for much of the Four State Region from late December
through the first three weeks of January. These fires
have charred tens of thousands of acres areawide.
|
Here is a graphical
cummulative 2005 annual rainfall across the area.
Locations across southeast Oklahoma...northeast
Texas and adjacent areas of southwest Arkansas was
much drier than the rest of the region. The spike
of rainfall across deep east Texas was due to Hurricane
Rita. The other spike across north central Louisiana
had more than one cause, but the main reason was
that the Gulf of Mexico moisture had more time to
return northward in this area, before drier air
from the west or northwest overspread the region
which allowed from convection. |
The relentless drought has also had a dramatic
impact on the region economically and recreationally,
where hay production decreased significantly over East
Texas, in which only a quarter to a third of the norm
was produced, as many farmers were only able to make one
or two cuts all summer. As a result, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture designated several East Texas counties
as natural disaster areas, allowing farmers to apply for
low interest federal loans through the Farm Bureau Service.
In fact, Texas drought losses for 2005 have topped
$1.5 Billion! Many
area lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers remain at
or near record low pool stages, with the city of Shreveport
slated to begin drawing water from Twelve Mile Bayou February
1st in an effort to raise the level on Cross Lake, the
city’s water supply, as it remains some 3+ feet
below normal pool stage. The drought has even dried up
wetlands and destroyed waterfowl habitats in Arkansas,
forcing a 50% decrease in the number of waterfowl statewide.
2005 ended as one
of the top 10 driest years ever on record
at many locations, with much of the area receiving only
50-60% of normal rainfall. While the remainder of the
winter months through the spring could see equal probabilities
for below, normal, or above normal rainfall, the overall
upper air pattern appears to be changing to favor more
opportunities for rain, with January expected to reflect
near normal rainfall totals.
The following table indicates the cumulative 2005 rainfall
total, their departures, and other statistics for selected
cities in the Four State Region:
Location |
2005 YTD
Rainfall
(inches) |
2005
Departure
from Normal
(inches) |
Percentage
of Normal
Rainfall |
Driest Year
Ranking |
Data
Record |
Shreveport, LA
|
32.98 |
-18.32 |
64% |
14th |
Since 1872 |
Monroe, LA |
31.23 |
-22.11 |
59% |
3rd |
Since 1930 |
Texarkana, AR |
27.63 |
-19.75 |
58% |
6th |
Since 1892 |
El Dorado, AR |
28.30 |
-25.81 |
52% |
4th |
Since 1892 |
De Queen, AR |
28.04 |
-27.07 |
51% |
7th |
Since 1936 |
Tyler, TX |
24.90 |
-20.37 |
55% |
2nd |
Since 1898 |
Longview, TX |
29.92 |
-19.01 |
61% |
9th |
Since 1902 |
Lufkin, TX |
31.68 |
-14.94 |
68% |
12th |
Since 1948 |
Broken Bow, OK |
29.41 |
-21.31 |
58% |
N/A |
N/A |
Idabel, OK |
26.37 |
-24.35 |
52% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Here is how the 2005 Drought
progreesed across the region from January to December
with 1 image per month. |
|