The drought grew in southwest Arkansas and moved to a different spot across the northwest corner of the state this week, a report issued Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center indicated. But rainfall forecast for the weekend is expected to improve conditions.
More than 90 percent of Arkansas remains in some form of drought, said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the mitigation center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The report, issued weekly for the entire United States, did not factor in the heavy rains that fell across the state Tuesday evening and Wednesday. The center rates drought conditions based upon rainfall totals, temperatures and other meteorological data and compiles weekly information gathered each Tuesday morning.
Portions of 13 counties in the southwestern corner of the state are considered in “severe” drought, meaning the area is deficient of between 3 and 4 inches of rain over a 30-day period. Parts of Benton, Washington, Madison and Newton counties are also in severe drought, according to the center’s report. That area of drought moved about 30 miles to the west this week, Fuchs said.
About 52 percent of the state is in “moderate” drought and is deficient of between 2 and 3 inches of rainfall. Last week, 47 percent of the state was considered to be in moderate drought.
Parts of eight northeast Arkansas counties remain drought-free.
“The state picked up some good rains this week,” Fuchs said. “If you get more rainfall,as predicted, I think we’ll see a lot of improvements next week.”
National Weather Service forecasters are calling for a system to pass through the state today, bringing 1 to 3 inches of rain, said meteorologist Brian Smith of the weather service’s North Little Rock station. Northwest and south-central Arkansas could see the most rainfall, he said.
This week’s rains already have caused the Arkansas Forestry Commission to downgrade the danger for wildfires in much of the state.
Last week, 71 counties were considered to be in “moderate” danger of wildfires, meaning residents were urged to burn debris in early morning and late evening when winds were at a minimum and to have firefighting tools nearby. This week, 41 counties were in moderate danger.
County judges in 36 counties also issued burn bans last week; on Thursday, only six counties - Clark, Cleveland, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln and Madison - remained under a ban.
“The rain has helped us a lot,” Arkansas Forestry Commission spokesman Sheila Doughty said.
Several Arkansas towns saw deluges Tuesday and Wednesday. Delight in Pike County reported 5.7 inches of rain over a 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Waldron in Scott County saw 3.6 inches in 24 hours, and Amity in Clark County measured 2.8 inches.
“It’s much better,” said Bill Sprinkle, forester for the Arkansas Forestry Commission’s District 4, which oversees Columbia, Hempstead, Lafayette, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita and Union counties. “The rain has really helped us.
“There are no puddles remaining today - it soaked straight in. But this time of year, I’ll take anything.”
Magnolia City Treasurer Kim Newell said rains helped her pastureland this week.
“It’s been crunchy,” she said of grasses at her farm south of Magnolia. “It wasn’t growing. You can tell that we got a bit of rain. Everything green is back up quickly.
“It’s been hit and miss with rain,” she said. “We’ve had those small, five-minute showers. You’re excited when it rains, and you think you’re going to get rain. But it quits. [Tuesday’s] rain was a blessing.”
Madison County Judge Frank Weaver said he contemplated lifting the burn ban in his county but opted to leave it to ensure safety.
“We’ll see if we get more rain [today],” Weaver said. “Things are beginning to green up again. We’re looking a lot better now. But we’ll look at it again Monday. It can dry out quickly, so we need to be sure.”
Conditions improved slightly in some parts of Oklahoma and Texas this week, too, Fuchs said.
“It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “Some areas saw a lot of rain. Others didn’t, and things worsened there. The panhandle in west Texas is better. East Texas saw good rains, too.”
He credited an early active monsoon season in the southwest United States for improvements in Arkansas.Rains in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado provided moisture from the west, he said. As that moisture moved to the east, it collided with damp air from the south.
“There’s a lot more opportunities to see rain events as a result,” he said. “The last couple of years, the monsoon season was very short-lived and weak. It’s stronger this year and it’ll be an influence on what we can see in the next two to three weeks at least.”
Fuchs said he expects to see conditions improve in Arkansas when he releases his next report Aug. 1.
“If you get a couple of inches of rain, it’ll be easier to make those improvements,” he said. “If you get consecutive rain events, you may see a big impact.”
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 07/26/2013