Mesonet Ticker for June 3, 2026

                
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June 3, 2026       June 3, 2026       June 3, 2026       June 3, 2026


Brown-Out




You remember when it rained in west-central Oklahoma last? Snickers bars cost a
quarter, that's how long!

Sorry, old man exaggeration notwithstanding, it's been awhile. Just take a look
at the water year to date rainfall stuff for the grim picture (add hyphens in
that sentence wherever you deem necessary).









It's no wander the vegetation remains pitiful out that way, and even beyond out
that way. Wander why I wander instead of wonder? I wander that too.

A bit of an explanation of the VegDRI map, The Vegetation Drought Response
Index is a satellite-informed look at how vegetation is responding to drought.
Instead of only asking “how much rain fell?” or “what does the soil moisture
say?” VegDRI asks a different question: “How do the plants look compared to
what we’d expect for this time of year?”

Yellow, orange and red areas show vegetation stress, with darker reds
indicating more severe drought-related stress. White areas are near normal,
while greens show unusually moist or lush vegetation conditions. It’s not the
same thing as the U.S. Drought Monitor, and it’s not meant to replace rain
gauges, soil moisture data or local impact reports. But it’s a useful “eyes
from space” check on whether drought is actually showing up in the landscape.

Think of VegDRI as a drought stress detector for plants. Rainfall maps tell us
what fell from the sky. Soil moisture maps tell us what’s in the ground. VegDRI
helps show whether the vegetation is actually feeling it. And right now, a lot
of western Oklahoma vegetation appears to be saying, “Hey pal, how about a
drink?”

And it's not the only piece of satellite evidence showing the same thing. Here's
QuickDRI, which shows areas of flash drought.



Flash drought on top of longer-term drought is never a good thing. Just imagine
putting a Strawberry Pop-Tart on a Taco Bell Quesarito, now does that sound
good?

There's also our very own OK-FIRE's relative greenness map, showing we still
have January-like vegetation conditions out west.



Now, is there hope we can relieve some of that drought before we hit the cat
days of summer (dogs over overblown...cats rule, dogs drool). Yes, even in
the next few days.



Now is that a panaceea...panaseea...fix for long-term drought? No, not at all.
But drought relief has to start somewhere, no?

Gary McManus
State Climatologist
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climate Survey
gmcmanus@ou.edu
                

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