September 2004 Record Dryness

...RECORD DRY CONDITIONS OVER WESTERN ARKANSAS...
...EASTERN OKLAHOMA REMAINS DRY AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER...

A lack of rainfall over western Arkansas during the months of August and September 2004 lead to record dryness over much of the region. In Fayetteville, it was the second driest August and September on record, dating back to 1890. The rainfall totals in Fayetteville for August and September this year are as follows:

	Normal	2004
August	3.00 inches	0.58 inches	(7th driest since 1890)
September	4.83 inches	0.57 inches	(7th driest since 1890)
Total	7.83 inches	1.15 inches	(2nd driest since 1890)
The driest August and September was 0.77 inches in 1909.
In Fort Smith, the two month period of August and September was the fourth driest on record. The rainfall totals in Fort Smith for August and September this year are as follows:

	Normal	2004
August	2.56 inches	1.27 inches	(25th driest since 1900)
September	3.61 inches	0.27 inches	(6th driest since 1900)
Total	6.17 inches	1.54 inches	(4th driest since 1900)
The driest August and September was 1.20 inches in 1909.
In eastern Oklahoma, it was not as dry as portions of western Arkansas. However, in Tulsa the same two month period was ranked as the 14th driest since 1888.
While soil moisture is very low across the region, a good representation of how the region is doing this year in terms of precipitation is where lake levels are currently. Across eastern Oklahoma, most lake levels are very close to seasonal normals. A few lake levels (precent full relative to the conservation pool) are as follows:

Lake	Percent Full
Eufaula	100
Fort Gibson	100
Sardis	98
Tenkiller	95
Oologah	94
Broken Bow	84
Keystone	84
Grand	75

Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas was above normal through the end of July as a result of heavy rains that fell this spring and early summer. Currently, it remains near 100 percent of the conservation pool.