HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 247 PM MDT THU MAY 15 2008
...DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVE ACROSS WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEASTERN WYOMING...
SYNOPSIS... AS OF MAY 15...SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE LOCATED ACROSS EASTERN HARDING AND WESTERN PERKINS COUNTIES WITH ANOTHER AREA OF SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT OVER SOUTHERN FALL RIVER COUNTY. ELSEWHERE IN SOUTH DAKOTA...MODERATE /D1/ DROUGHT CONDITIONS COVERED THE REST OF FALL RIVER...PERKINS AND HARDING COUNTIES AND MOST OF CUSTER AND SHANNON COUNTIES. ABNORMALLY DRY /D0/ CONDITIONS EXIST ACROSS ZIEBACH...HAAKON...JACKSON...BENNETT...PENNINGTON...MEADE AND BUTTE COUNTIES.
IN NORTHEAST WYOMING...MODERATE /D1/ DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXIST OVER MOST OF WESTON COUNTY WITH ABNORMALLY DRY /D0/ CONDITIONS OVER SOUTHERN CAMPBELL COUNTY.
RECENT RAINFALL HAS IMPROVED THE OVERALL DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA.
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... -DUGOUTS AND STOCK PONDS ACROSS BUTTE...HARDING AND MEADE COUNTIES HAVE BEGUN TO REFILL. OTHER LOCATIONS OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA HAVE REPORTED LITTLE CHANGE SO FAR. -DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEASTERN WYOMING. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS FROM NINE YEARS OF DROUGHT REMAIN WHICH CAN BE SEEN IN THE RESERVOIR LEVELS LISTED NEAR THE END OF THIS STATEMENT. -ACCORDING TO THE RAPID CITY JOURNAL...THE SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED SHUT-OFF ORDERS FOR JUNIOR WATER RIGHTS HOLDERS UPSTREAM OF ANGOSTURA RESERVOIR. -STOCK PONDS AND DUGOUTS IN THE SEVERE /D2/ DROUGHT AREAS CONTINUE TO BE VERY LOW WHICH IS LIMITING WATER FOR CATTLE AND OTHER ANIMALS. WATER AT SUCH LOW LEVELS TYPICALLY IS OF POOR QUALITY AND NOT USABLE. -ACCORDING TO THE RAPID CITY JOURNAL...COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICES IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA ARE OPERATING A DROUGHT RELIEF HAY EXCHANGE TO CONNECT THOSE WHO HAVE FEED TO SELL WITH THOSE WHO NEED TO BUY IT. THIS EFFORT WAS INTRODUCED BECAUSE OF A DROUGHT-INDUCED POOR GROWING SEASON ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PART OF THE STATE IN 2007.
CLIMATE SUMMARY... DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL...TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WERE SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE. SO FAR IN MAY...TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN BELOW AVERAGE. PRECIPITATION IN NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS HAS ALREADY EXCEEDED THE AVERAGE MAY PRECIPITATION TOTALS WITH 3 TO 7 INCHES ALREADY. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS IN SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEASTERN WYOMING HAVE BEEN NEAR AVERAGE.
PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF MAY CALLS FOR BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... SNOW MELT COMBINED WITH HEAVY RAIN DURING THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH ...CAUSED MINOR FLOODING IN THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS...FOOTHILLS AND IN NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. SEVERAL CULVERTS WERE WASHED OUT... ANY SECONDARY ROADS WERE COVERED WITH WATER AND NUMEROUS CREEKS AND STREAMS OVERFLOWED THEIR BANKS.
ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY /USGS/...THE 28-DAY AVERAGE STREAMFLOW COMPARED TO HISTORICAL STREAMFLOW IS NORMAL TO ABOVE NORMAL.
THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE PERCENT FULL OF THE RESERVOIR CONSERVATION POOL AND THE CHANGE IN RESERVOIR ELEVATION OVER THE PAST 30 DAYS AS CALCULATED BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF RECLAMATION /USBR/.
RESERVOIR PERCENT OF AVERAGE ELEVATION CHANGE ........................................................... ANGOSTURA 50% +0.6 FT BELLE FOURCHE 81% +5.5 FT DEERFIELD 79% +1.0 FT KEYHOLE 36% +1.0 FT PACTOLA 56% +4.5 FT SHADEHILL 57% +2.0 FT
NEXT ISSUANCE... THE NEXT PLANNED UPDATE OF THIS PRODUCT WILL BE AROUND THE MIDDLE OF JUNE...UNLESS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS OCCURS THAT WARRANTS AN EARLIER UPDATE.
RELATED WEB SITES...
U.S. DROUGHT PAGE
http://www.drought.gov/
SOUTH DAKOTA DROUGHT INFORMATION...
http://sdces.sdstate.edu/drought/
WYOMING DROUGHT INFORMATION...
http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/wrds/wsc/dtf/drought.html
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
ADDITIONAL RIVER AND RESERVOIR INFORMATION...
NWS - http://weather.gov/ahps/
USGS - http://water.usgs.gov/
USBR - http://www.usbr.gov/gp/water/rflow.cfm
SOUTH DAKOTA CLIMATE AND WEATHER...
http://climate.sdstate.edu/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE /NWS/ AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER ...THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE /USDA/...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OBSERVATION SITES...STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES...USDA ...USBR AND USGS.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS... IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT...
MELISSA SMITH OR LEE CZEPYHA DROUGHT FOCAL POINTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 300 EAST SIGNAL DRIVE RAPID CITY SOUTH DAKOTA 57701 TELEPHONE 605-341-9271 E-MAIL Melissa.Smith@noaa.gov OR Lee.Czepyha@noaa.gov
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EFFECTIVE JUNE 10 2008...THIS PRODUCT...FSDESFUNR/FGUS73 KUNR...WILL NO LONGER BE USED TO DISSEMINATE DROUGHT INFORMATION. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE UNDER A NEW PRODUCT CALLED THE DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT...IDENTIFIER FSDDGTUNR/ AXUS73 KUNR. DROUGHT INFORMATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT...
http://www.weather.gov/rapidcity/