Ticker for April 28, 2015

                
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April 28, 2015     April 28, 2015     April 28, 2015     April 28, 2015


How much rain is too much?

Well, we might ask Cheyenne, Oklahoma. They needed rain, no doubt, as did the rest
of western Oklahoma, and the month of April certain came through. But 13.2 inches?



Obviously lots of flash flooding going on out that way...farmlands inundated,
bridges washed out, etc. But at least all the farm ponds are filling, and then
some! In fact, that 13.2 inches will make April 2015 the second wettest month in
the record books for Cheyenne. Back in June 1996, the Oklahoma Mesonet site
recorded 15.43 inches.



All that water is also traveling down the Washita River and helping the
entire watershed. Like Foss Lake, for instance. Not only is it getting its own
rain, all that water from out west is also pouring in, and the lake is on the
rise, currently 40% of normal capacity.




Other lakes in the area have also reaped the benefits of rain in their
watersheds, like Canton and Altus-Lugert. In fact, the Canton Lake elevation
chart has gone ballistic!







Unfortunately, some other woe begotten lakes across western Oklahoma are a bit
slower in their rise, although they are showing signs of life. Altus' drinking
supply lake, Tom Steed, is just now beginning to trickle up. And Duncan's supply
from Lake Waurika hasn't gone up at all. The city of Duncan will no doubt remain
in their strict mandatory water restrictions.







At any rate, things are "better" out west, not perfect. Still too many red
dots on the reservoir storage map from OWRB, but the numbers are a bit better
than what they were last month.




Drought recovery is a slow process, especially when it comes to the hydrologic
drought. Those lakes and such take a long time to drop, and they usually take
a long time to get back to normal.

Now we enter a bit of a quiet period for the rest of week...a few chances of
rain, but the big stuff is over for a bit.



So how much rain is too much rain? Well, when you're in the drought we've seen
over the last 5 years across western Oklahoma, that's tough to say. Sort of
like how much chocolate cake is too much chocolate cake? When you just can't
take it anymore. Only the folks in Cheyenne can answer that.

Gary McManus
State Climatologist
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253
gmcmanus@mesonet.org