DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
213 PM MDT WED JUN 18 2008
...DROUGHT WATCH DECLARED FOR 2 COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...
SYNOPSIS...
IN THE JUNE 10TH RELEASE OF THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...WESTERN
PORTIONS OF THE TRI STATE AREA CONTINUED TO SHOW DROUGHT CONDITIONS
RANGING FROM MODERATE TO SEVERE. THE WORST CONDITIONS WERE OCCURRING
WEST OF HIGHWAY 25 NEAR THE COLORADO STATE LINE. IMPACTS FROM THIS
DROUGHT WERE PRIMARILY AGRICULTURAL. NO DROUGHT WAS INDICATED IN THE
EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE TRI STATE AREA.
THE DROUGHT MONITOR FOCUSES ON BROAD-SCALE CONDITIONS. LOCAL
CONDITIONS MAY VARY.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...
ON JUNE 11TH...KANSAS GOVERNOR KATHLEEN SEBELIUS DECLARED A DROUGHT
WARNING IN FIVE SOUTHWEST KANSAS COUNTIES...AND A DROUGHT WATCH IN
EIGHT COUNTIES. THE DROUGHT WATCH INCLUDES GREELEY AND WICHITA
COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST KANSAS. THE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR 60 DAYS OR
UNTIL REVISED OR RESCINDED.
CLIMATE SUMMARY...
DROUGHT LEVELS...
D0 -- ABNORMALLY DRY OR RECOVERING FROM DROUGHT
D1 -- MODERATE DROUGHT
D2 -- SEVERE DROUGHT
D3 -- EXTREME DROUGHT
D4 -- EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
PERCENT NORMAL OF PRECIPITATION IS THE AVERAGE ACROSS A COUNTY FOR
THE INDICATED PERIOD. LOCAL CONDITIONS MAY VARY. A VALUE OF 100
PERCENT WOULD BE THE CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL...A VALUE OF 50 PERCENT
WOULD BE HALF OF NORMAL AND CONSIDERED DRY...WHILE A VALUE OF 200
PERCENT WOULD BE TWICE NORMAL AND CONSIDERED VERY WET.
DROUGHT LEVEL AS OF JUNE 10 2008.
PRECIPITATION ENDING MAY 31 2008.
| PERCENT NORMAL OF PRECIPITATION |
----------------------------------
| | | MAR 2008 | JUN 2007 |
| DROUGHT | | THROUGH | THROUGH |
COUNTY | LEVEL | MAY 2008 | MAY 2008 | MAY 2008 |
------------ ---------- ---------- ------------ ----------
YUMA | D0-D1 | 80 | 75 | 95 |
KIT CARSON | D0-D1 | 40 | 40 | 75 |
CHEYENNE CO | D0-D1 | 25 | 25 | 65 |
DUNDY | D0-D1 | 95 | 90 | 95 |
CHEYENNE KS | D1 | 70 | 60 | 80 |
SHERMAN | D1 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
WALLACE | D1-D2 | 50 | 60 | 60 |
GREELEY | D2 | 15 | 35 | 55 |
HITCHCOCK | D0 | 150 | 115 | 90 |
RAWLINS | D0-D1 | 150 | 110 | 90 |
THOMAS | D0-D1 | 100 | 90 | 80 |
LOGAN | D0-D2 | 70 | 80 | 70 |
WICHITA | D1-D2 | 30 | 60 | 65 |
RED WILLOW | NONE | 250 | 150 | 110 |
DECATUR | NONE | 175 | 140 | 95 |
SHERIDAN | NONE | 160 | 125 | 85 |
GOVE | NONE | 175 | 130 | 110 |
NORTON | NONE | 225 | 175 | 110 |
GRAHAM | NONE | 175 | 140 | 105 |
MAY PRECIPITATION SHOWED A VERY LARGE WEST TO EAST GRADIENT ACROSS
THE TRI STATE AREA. GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF HIGHWAY
25...PRECIPITATION WAS MUCH BELOW NORMAL. IN THOSE AREAS...DROUGHT
CONDITIONS WORSENED BY ABOUT A CATEGORY COMPARED TO LAST MONTH.
SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS NOW EXIST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 ALONG AND
NEAR THE COLORADO STATE LINE. FURTHER EAST...GENERALLY EAST OF
HIGHWAY 25...MUCH ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL OCCURRED IN MAY...WITH SOME
AREAS RECEIVING RECORD RAINFALL. ON MAY 23 MCCOOK NEBRASKA RECORDED
ITS ALL-TIME GREATEST 24-HOUR RAINFALL AMOUNT WITH 5.13 INCHES. MORE
HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRED ON MAY 22 AND MAY 29 EAST OF HIGHWAY 25. THE
SOLOMON RIVER AT LENORA KANSAS BRIEFLY ROSE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE DUE TO
HEAVY RAIN ON MAY 29. THOSE AREAS ARE NO LONGER IN DROUGHT.
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...
THE LATEST OUTLOOKS WERE MADE BY THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER ON
MAY 31.
ONE MONTH TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...VALID JUNE 2008...EQUAL CHANCES FOR
BELOW...ABOVE...OR NEAR NORMAL.
ONE MONTH PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK...VALID JUNE 2008...EQUAL CHANCES
FOR BELOW...ABOVE...OR NEAR NORMAL.
THREE MONTH TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...VALID JUNE 2008 THROUGH AUGUST
2008....EQUAL CHANCES FOR BELOW...ABOVE...OR NEAR NORMAL.
THREE MONTH PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK...VALID JUNE 2008 THROUGH AUGUST
2008...EQUAL CHANCES FOR BELOW...ABOVE...OR NEAR NORMAL.
SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK...VALID THROUGH AUGUST 2008...DROUGHT
CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO IMPROVE. THE FORECAST IS BASED PRIMARILY
ON TWO FACTORS: FIRST...LA NINA HAS ENDED IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN...AND
IT WAS PROBABLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DRY WINTER MONTHS. AND
SECOND...WITHOUT LA NINA PRECIPITATION SHOULD RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL
LEVELS...AND JUNE THROUGH AUGUST IS ONE OF THE WETTER THREE MONTH
PERIODS DURING THE YEAR.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...
DATA VALID MAY 30 2008.
STORAGE CONTENT
---------------
END OF MONTH | LAST MONTH
RESERVOIR (ACRE-FEET) | (ACRE-FEET) TREND
--------------- ------------ ------------ -----
BONNY RESERVOIR 9119 | 9040 STEADY
SWANSON LAKE 55786 | 53856 RISING
KEITH SEBELIUS LAKE 19151 | 10752 RISING
HARRY STRUNK LAKE 47298 | 34942 FALLING
ENDERS RESERVOIR 16923 | 16838 STEADY
HUGH BUTLER LAKE 28121 | 26329 RISING
NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...
THIS LOCAL DROUGHT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND THE FIRST OF EACH
MONTH...OR MORE FREQUENTLY IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
RELATED WEB SITES...
A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS DROUGHT STATEMENT...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gld/?n=/climate/droughtmonitor.php
LOCAL WEATHER...CLIMATE AND WATER INFORMATION...
http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=gld
US DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...
http://www.drought.noaa.gov/
HIGH PLAINS REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER...
http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/
ADDITIONAL RIVER...LAKE AND RESERVOIR INFORMATION...
USGS - http://water.usgs.gov/
COE - http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION - http://www.usbr.gov/gp/water/rflow.cfm
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
DROUGHT OUTLOOK...
http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html
KANSAS CROP WEATHER...
http://www.nass.usda.gov/weather/cpcurr/ks-crop-weather
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...
THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA'S
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THE
USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL
DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN
GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...STATE COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...COE AND USGS.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION
PLEASE CONTACT...
JERRY KILLINGSWORTH
DROUGHT FOCAL POINT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
920 ARMORY ROAD
GOODLAND KS 67735
TELEPHONE 785-899-6412
Jwrry.Killingsworth@noaa.gov
JDK