Drought Relief Continues

We have returned to a quiet, dry pattern, but the results of the early week rainfall are now seen in the latest Drought Monitor. Although 95% of the state still remains in at least a severe drought, the coverage of exceptional drought (the worst drought category) has been reduced by 11%. The map to your right shows the drought conditions seen throughout Oklahoma.

We've still got a long ways to go. In fact, we still have over an 8 inch rainfall deficit for the year in Tulsa. Several more rain events like the one we had earlier in the week would take away most of our drought concerns from Tulsa to the east.

Much of the autumn rains lately have done a good job at returning moisture to the near-surface soil, but have not made it down to deeper soil until very recently. For more permanent relief, we need enough water to permeate through all depths of our soil. Fortunately, most reservoir water levels appear to be on the rise in Green Country now.

So is there another rain-maker headed our way? Well, there is still some uncertainty with the track of our next storm system. Our computer models are inconsistent with the timing and movement of the system, which has the potential to bring another soaking rain to parts of the state early next week.

Until then, we get to enjoy some nice fall weather! After starting out around the freezing mark this morning, temperatures will make a gradual climb, day by day, into the weekend. In fact, afternoon high temperatures are still expected to be in the 70s Saturday and Sunday! This kind of warmth becomes more fleeting as we move deeper into the cold season, so be sure to soak it in! The good news is, no MAJOR cold blast is seen in the extended range models. That means people like my mom who have been able to keep tomato plants alive and producing can continue to enjoy a late autumn bounty!

Have a great weekend! Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and "like" me on Facebook.