2014 High Plains Drought Monitor

April 22nd


20140422_high_plains_none_zpsbfdf5d3a.png

April 22, 2014
(Released Thursday April 24, 2014)
Valid 7 a.m. Eastern
Statistics type: Traditional (D0-D4, D1-D4, etc.) Categorical (D0, D1, etc.)
Drought Condition (Percent Area):
Week Date Nothing D0-D4 D1-D4 D2-D4 D3-D4 D4
Current 4/22/2014 49.86 50.14 32.16 19.60 5.35 0.39
Last Week 4/15/2014 53.78 46.22 32.20 19.33 4.96 0.30
3 Months Ago 1/21/2014 45.44 54.56 20.62 12.28 2.44 0.30
Start of Calendar Year 12/31/2013 45.79 54.21 20.60 12.28 2.44 0.30
Start of Water Year 10/1/2013 29.87 70.13 43.21 19.50 3.01 0.30
One Year Ago 4/23/2013 7.07 92.93 86.14 69.80 37.82 7.32
View More Statistics

Intensity:
D0 - Abnormally Dry
D1 - Moderate Drought
D2 - Severe Drought
D3 - Extreme Drought
D4 - Exceptional Drought
 
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Hoping to see a little change next week!!! Saw some nice showers and some good rain last night in certain counties... Kansas and Colorado and Nebraska:thumbsup::cheers:
 
I have had just .74 inches this year 1 Jan to today and 8 days with a trace--I'm starting to lose some of last years tree plantings :(
 
The outlook for the moisture to increase is pretty good though. Check this out:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=1 (On the left, there is a line that says "More outlooks," if you click on those, you can see the other months' precipitation predictions.)

And speaking of rain on Wednesday, there were flash flood warnings in north western Kansas, with as much as 4 inches in some places, so it was a pretty good storm. I just hope it didn't damage anything.
 
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Hard to believe Western KS is already back into extreme drought after just getting out of it last year. They need that about as much as a sharp stick in the eye. Seems that CO and NE have been getting better rain at least.
 
We weren't even out of the drought last year! It does not take much to reverse any good. Wichita was 100 degrees early in the week. 92 in Kansas City yesterday. Low moisture and fire hazard everywhere. A slightly dry year is good for quail, not this with extreme temperatures and desertification! Looks like a 10- 20 year problem. Hard times for everyone.
 
Hard to believe Western KS is already back into extreme drought after just getting out of it last year. They need that about as much as a sharp stick in the eye. Seems that CO and NE have been getting better rain at least.


I see the South Border of Kansas the Extreme Drought creeping in as well. S.E. Colorado and Western and S.W. Kansas just need a break.... N.E. Got Moisture Yesterday, but a lot of hail in Both Colorado and extreme N.W. Kansas.

This is a pic from around the Otis area, an hour after it fell. Woodrow had 3-6 inches of hail.
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I see the South Border of Kansas the Extreme Drought creeping in as well. S.E. Colorado and Western and S.W. Kansas just need a break.... N.E. Got Moisture Yesterday, but a lot of hail in Both Colorado and extreme N.W. Kansas.

This is a pic from around the Otis area, an hour after it fell. Woodrow had 3-6 inches of hail.
10308375_853991717950490_6630999553436438362_n_zps85b3c6c6.jpg

Speaking of Otis, did you happen to see pictures of the dust storm west of great bend about a week ago.It was Bad!
 
I did not see any real good photo's of the dust storm. Only some from a friends camera phone as they were driving back home from Indy. They had enough and ended up staying the night in Colby.
 
I might be time to shut-off the irrigation, sow some grass buffalo grass, and plant osage orange hedgerows The constant tilling, fertilizer, pesticide control, and of course watering a doomed crop are scaring me! How bout time out. Give these farmers a low interest loan to make it through, provide equipment, labor, and money to repair the ground and safe-guard it with land easements. Make it profitable to the landowner. If we wait to long the cost will be higher, more damage will be done. producers will be bankrupt, sell their ground for nothing, still require the time and effort to stabilize, Meanwhile our soil goes to the ocean, our drinking water exposed, to the above ground conditions will evaporate it air, our health will be compromised. With a small fraction of cost we could avoid this now. Or repent later.
 
We are getting some moisture today and are looking at rain and snow late Saturday night into Sunday. S.W. Kansas has a 90% chance of rain Sunday eve.
 
Good rain here today, out here in east Brighton. We have had almost half an inch today, on top of a quarter inch yesterday. Trying to get something other than goatheads and thistle growing on our two acres. Threw out quite a bit of dryland pasture mix, some buckwheat, red clover and drought resistant grass in hopes that something will take.

The weekend looks good across the board.

From the NOAA/NWS forecast discussion page:
"THE ECMWF AND GEM CONTINUE TO KEEP
THEIR SLIGHTLY SLOWER SOLUTIONS WHILE THE GFS AND NAM MAINTAINS
ITS SLIGHTLY FASTER SOLUTION. IF THE GFS AND NAM VERIFIES...THE
METRO AREAS AND ADJACENT PLAINS MAY BEGIN TO SWITCH OVER TO SNOW
DURING THE DAY...WHILE IT MAY TAKE UNTIL SUNDAY EVENING TO SWITCH
OVER IF THE ECMWF AND GEM VERIFIES. CURRENTLY SIDING WITH A
SLIGHTLY QUICKER SOLUTION. OVERALL HOWEVER...ALL MODELS SHOWING
AROUND 1.5-2 INCHES OF LIQUID PRECIPITATION SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH
MONDAY. "
 
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Well, we were only suppose to get rain until Sunday eve. It has rained all night and now at 6 a.m. it is snowing. Probably lose power since the tree's are leafed out all over. Have to get the Wife out to shake the tree's.:D
 
.13 here last night! We're supposed to have a better chance tonight though the prediction map I just saw on the TV showed it more to the north.
 
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