Ticker for April 21, 2011

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
April 21, 2011     April 21, 2011     April 21, 2011     April 21, 2011


I Prefer Magnavox

Has the drought reached its Zenith? Rain-ification is nearly upon us, and it
looks like the chance for bombardment by millions (billions?) of hydrometeors
might really occur this time. In fact, if you believe the forecast from the
Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, we might be dealing with flooding in
parts of the state by Monday.



If that verifies the Easter Bunny better have his scuba gear ready in
northeastern Oklahoma.

Let's see where drought conditions are at now as a base point. The new drought
map that came out this morning included a bit of relief in north central
Oklahoma and also in the southeast. Extreme (D3) drought spread from the
southwest up to the northwest and was also introduced into the western Oklahoma
Panhandle.



March was bad for most of the state and April has been little better. For the
April 1-21 period, West central, central and southwestern Oklahoma have
experienced their driest such period since 1921. In fact, only 0.10" of rain
fell on average across central Oklahoma. For the southwest and west central
areas?

0.0

That's enough to get you put on double-secret probation. Check out the Mesonet
total map for April. Nary a drop fell over much of the western half of the
state:



The percent-of-normal map for the March 1-April 21 period speaks volumes as
well.



Unfortunately, the rain comes late for much of the Oklahoma wheat crop. The
latest VegDRI (Vegetation Drought Response Index) for Oklahoma shows the
damage.



Quoting friend of the Ticker, and somebody who knows these maps much better
than I do:

"The most recent VegDRI map shows a significant amount of out of season
pixels in southwest OK, which is often an indication that the drought is
so severe that spectral reflectance over the vegetation (wheat fields
very likely included) resembles bare soil more than a vegetation
signature. If that is the case, the crop is essentially non-existent ..."

The future looks a bit uncertain for the western half of the state. The latest
outlooks for drought fortunes and for May both point to possible continued
drought in western Oklahoma.




So this is it, the first chance for substantial drought relief in months. The
totals will be the key, obviously. So bring on rain-mageddon! And remember,
"Turn Around, Don't Drown."

Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253