614 AXUS74 KLUB 291508 DGTLUB TXC017-045-069-075-079-101-107-125-153-169-189-191-219-263-269- 279-303-305-345-369-433-437-445-501-121515- DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1008 AM CDT THU AUG 29 2013 ...DROUGHT LEVELS HAVE DROPPED A NOTCH OVER-ALL ALTHOUGH A STRIP OF SEVERE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT REMAINED OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN SOUTH PLAINS CENTERED ON FLOYD COUNTY... SYNOPSIS... WIDESPREAD LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN IN MID-AUGUST WAS SUFFICIENT TO BRING NOTABLE DROUGHT RELIEF TO MOST OF THE TEXAS SOUTH PLAINS REGION. EVEN THOUGH THE RAIN FROM AUGUST 13TH THROUGH THE 16TH WAS TWO WEEKS PAST AND HAS SINCE BEEN REPLACED BY VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS...IT ALLOWED A FULL LEVEL OF DROUGHT IMPROVEMENT FOR MOST OF THE AREA. A NARROW STRIP OF SEVERE DROUGHT REMAINED FROM BROWNFIELD THROUGH LUBBOCK...WITH EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT HOLDING FAST FROM FLOYDADA AND LOCKNEY TO AROUND CLAYTONVILLE AND WHITELEY. AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS... THE RECENT RETURN OF WARMER AND DRY CONDITIONS WAS IN GENERAL GOOD FOR COTTON MATURATION...THOUGH SOME CROPS WERE DRYING OUT AGAIN AND SHOWING STRESS. MOST COTTON WAS IN THE CUTOUT OR BOLL-FILL STAGE WHILE LATE PLANTED FIELDS HAD JUST REACHED EARLY BLOOM. INSECT PRESSURE WAS REPORTED TO BE LIGHT. WHEAT GROWERS WERE PLOWING FIELDS IN PREPARATION FOR SEPTEMBER PLANTING. RANGELAND AND PASTURES WERE MOSTLY IN GOOD CONDITIONS BUT ADDITIONAL GROWTH WILL REQUIRE MORE RAIN. RANGELAND IN SOME AREAS REMAINED IN RECOVERY-MODE WITH ONLY LIMITED GRAZING CAPACITY ALTHOUGH LIVESTOCK WERE IN GOOD TO EXCELLENT CONDITION. FIRE WEATHER IMPACTS... TYPICAL LATE SUMMER CONDITIONS PREVAILED WITH PREDOMINATELY GREEN FIELDS AND RELATIVELY LITTLE CURED FUEL. LARGE UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE SYSTEMS REMAINED THE DOMINANT FEATURE RESULTING IN RELATIVELY LIGHT SURFACE WIND COMPONENTS THOUGH OCCASIONAL BREEZY CONDITIONS WERE NOTED. ENERGY RELEASE COMPONENTS FOR THE AVAILABLE FUELS REMAINED NEAR OR BELOW THE LONG TERM AVERAGES. AND THE MOST RECENT KEETCH-BYRAM INDEX FROM THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE INDICATED LEVELS MOSTLY BELOW AND IN SOME CASES WELL BELOW 500...CONSISTENT WITH THE WETNESS EARLIER IN THE MONTH. FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS HAVE REMAINED SMALL AS A RESULT. LIGHTNING STARTS WERE THE MOST VALID CONCERN IN THE SHORT TERM. COUNTY BURN BANS REMAINED IN PLACE FOR THE FOLLOWING SEVEN COUNTIES: CHILRESS...LAMB...COCHRAN...CROSBY... KING...TERRY...AND GARZA. CLIMATE SUMMARY... MID-AUGUST BROUGHT SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND WIDESPREAD RAIN TO REGION AS SEVERAL THUNDERSTORM COMPLEXES MOVED SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA. ONE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX MOVED THROUGH LATE ON THE 13TH AND EARLY ON THE 14TH...ANOTHER LATE ON THE 14TH AND EARLY ON THE 15TH...WITH A FINAL COMPLEX OF STORMS AFFECTING PORTIONS OF THE ROLLING PLAINS...FROM CHILDRESS THROUGH GUTHRIE AND JAYTON EARLY ON THE 16TH. ABUNDANT MOISTURE RESULTED IN EFFICIENT RAIN RATES FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH MANY LOCATIONS RECORDING 1 TO OVER 3 INCHES DURING THE MOIST MID-AUGUST STRETCH. HOWEVER... SEVERAL SPOTS INCLUDING NEAR CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK AND PORTIONS OF CASTRO...YOAKUM...FLOYD...MOTLEY...COTTLE AND NORTHERN DICKENS AND NORTHERN KING COUNTIES MISSED OUT ON THE HEAVIER RAIN...RECEIVING LESS THAN AN INCH...AND UNDER ONE HALF INCH IN A FEW ISOLATED POCKETS. SINCE AUGUST 16TH TEMPERATURES HAVE RECOVERED TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY AVERAGE WHILE THE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION HAS SHUT OFF. SPORADIC GENERALLY LIGHT RAINFALL HAS AFFECTED A FEW LOCATIONS...INCLUDING A QUICK 0.83 INCHES OF RAIN AT CROSBYTON ON THE EVENING OF THE 23RD...BUT MOST LOCATIONS HAVE RECORDED LITTLE TO NO RAINFALL SINCE THE MORNING OF THE 16TH. PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL PROVIDE HOT AND GENERALLY DRY WEATHER OVER THE COMING WEEK OR MORE. THE EXCEPTION MAY BE LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WHEN A WEAK FRONT AND PLUME OF MOISTURE ALOFT MAY BRIEFLY INCREASE RAIN CHANCES. THE LONGER TERM ONE MONTH /SEPTEMBER/ AND THREE MONTH /SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER/ OUTLOOKS FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CALL FOR A GREATER THAN AVERAGE CHANCE OF EXPERIENCING TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL WITH AN EQUAL CHANCE OF SEEING PRECIPITATION BELOW...NEAR OR ABOVE AVERAGE. WITH THE HEIGHT OF TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON ON THE HORIZON...CHANCES FOR ANY WIDESPREAD RAINFALL STREAMING IN FROM THE PACIFIC OR GULF OF MEXICO WILL PEAK IN THE NEXT MONTH. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... AREA RESERVOIRS REMAINED THE SAME OR DECLINED SLIGHTLY THROUGH THE SECOND HALF OF AUGUST. THE FOLLOWING RESERVOIR CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED ON AUGUST 29TH: RESERVOIR SUMMARY CONSERVATION POOL 2-WEEK MAXIMUM PERCENT OF POOL TODAY CHANGE DEPTH CONSERVATION (FEET) CAPACITY MACKENZIE LAKE 3100 3004.8 -0.1 55 7 WHITE RIVER LAKE 2370 2340.1 -0.3 13 0 LAKE ALAN HENRY 2220 2207.5 0.0 64 69 NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 12TH OR SOONER IF NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CONDITIONS. && RELATED WEB SITES... ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/: DROUGHT MONITOR: HTTP://WWW.DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU/ NOAA DROUGHT PAGE: HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV/ OFFICE OF THE TEXAS STATE CLIMATOLOGIST: HTTP://CLIMATEXAS.TAMU.EDU/ NWS PRECIPITATION: HTTP://WWW.WATER.WEATHER.GOV/PRECIP/ USGS: HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV/ USACE: HTTP://WWW.MVR.USACE.ARMY.MIL/ CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER /CPC/: HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/ USDA: HTTP://WWW.USDA.GOV/OCE/WEATHER/ TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION AGENCY CROP AND WEATHER REPORT: HTTP://TODAY.AGRILIFE.ORG ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE 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 OBSERVATIONS SITES... THE TEXAS TECH/WEST TEXAS MESONET...STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES...THE USDA...USACE AND USGS. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS... IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 2579 SOUTH LOOP 289 SUITE 100 LUBBOCK TEXAS 79423 PHONE: 806-745-4260 SR-LUB.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV $$