But for 3 counties, drought no worse in state

Map showing the Drought conditions in Arkansas.
Map showing the Drought conditions in Arkansas.

Drought conditions worsened in three western Arkansas counties this week but remained stable for the rest of the state, a federal agency that issues weekly drought reports said Thursday.

Polk, Miller and Lafayette counties saw drought conditions worsen and were classified as being in "moderate drought" by the U.S. Drought Monitor, meaning the areas have a deficit of 2 to 3 inches of rainfall over a 30-day period.

The monitor is based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and issues weekly assessments of drought conditions across the nation on the basis of rainfall, temperatures, humidity, soil moisture and other meteorological data.

According to the monitor, 43.25 percent of Arkansas is in some form of drought. Last week, 44.7 percent was considered to be "abnormally dry," meaning the areas have a deficit of 1 to 2 inches of rainfall over a 30-day period.

The slight improvement -- and the fact that conditions didn't worsen in more areas -- is credited to a pattern of afternoon showers and thunderstorms that has formed over the state the past week, said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington.

A vast ridge of high pressure parked over the central United States for the past few weeks -- called a "heat dome" by some -- finally weakened and allowed cooler air to travel farther south and mix with warm, Gulf moisture.

That resulted in the showers, created by rising air, warmed by the afternoon sun, mixing with the flow of cooler air above, Rippy said.

"Arkansas saw enough of the showers this week to stave off a bad drought," he said. "The short-time drying done by the heat during the day [was] offset by the showers."

Forecasters first thought drought conditions would worsen rapidly in Arkansas, much as they did in 2011 when a "flash drought" occurred. Five years ago in July, 96 percent of the state was in some form of drought.

"If Arkansas sees more showers, I think we can say we won't see any significant growth of the drought," Rippey said. "But the state does need rain."

He said the state still has the potential of seeing rapidly deteriorating drought conditions.

Last year, the state was drought-free July 28 when the monitor released its weekly report. On Oct. 20, 96 percent of Arkansas was in drought, including the southern half, which was considered to be in "extreme drought."

Conditions were much worse this week in the South's Delta.

Eighty percent of Mississippi is in drought, including an area near Jackson, and the northeast corner, which were deemed to be in "extreme drought," meaning an area is 4 to 5 inches short of its average rainfall over a 30-day period.

The USDA made federal assistance available to farmers in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee after parts of those states were declared disaster areas because of the drought.

Lafayette County cooperative extension agent Amanda Greer couldn't inspect crops in southern Arkansas on Thursday because it was raining so hard, she said.

"We were right at the point of it fixing to get bad," she said of drought conditions. "It's been dry, dry.

"We seemed to miss all the rains that came across before, but we finally got them the last three days."

Still, farmers kept close watch on pastures and hayfields to ensure they would produce enough feed for cattle.

Soybean farmers who tended to crops around the Red River basin in Lafayette County were irrigating because of the dryness, Greer said.

"It doesn't help when the temperatures were 100 degrees and it was bone-dry," Greer said. "The [soybean] crops that aren't irrigated are looking pretty sketchy."

The southeast corner of the state has seen its extremes. Last year, the Red River flooded in January, which followed near-record flooding during the previous summer. Now, Greer said, it's been extremely dry.

"We went from farmers telling us that their pond levees were busting because of all the water to 'We can't get any rain,'" she said. "It's going to take a lot of water to get totally caught up. A little rain won't hurt anyone's feelings in Lafayette County."

Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison said he was surprised by the drought rating for his county. Heavy showers have soaked the county and have made "everything green," he said.

"This has been one of the best summers I can remember," Ellison said. "Things aren't suffering at all. We are in excellent shape for this time of year."

Ellison said he hadn't issued a burn ban that prohibits residents from burning trash and debris this year.

"That's very odd," he said.

The Arkansas Forestry Commission said no other Arkansas county judges have issued burn bans, and rated the entire state as "low" for wildfire danger.

Another ridge of high pressure may form over the central United States by Monday, again blocking the northern jet stream from supplying cool air to the state for a few days, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Smith of North Little Rock.

"We have a chance of isolated showers this weekend and then clearing next week," Smith said. "The humidity will get higher, and there won't be a lot of storms developing.

"It's what happens this time of year."

A Section on 07/29/2016

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