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By
Montra Lockwood, Service Hydrologist
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As of late
June, the Drought Monitor and Palmer Drought Index indicated
moderate drought conditions continuing across central, southern and
southwest Louisiana as well as southeast Texas. Agricultural
interests continue to feel significant impacts from this ongoing
drought.
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A broad
ridge of high pressure has been situated over the central and
southern US from late Spring through early Summer. During the last
weeks of June, a few disturbances traveled south around the eastern
edge of the ridge bringing some rainfall to Louisiana. However,
these systems have not produced enough rain to significantly reduce
the effects of the drought.
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the image to see a larger version. |
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Rainfall
totals for June continue to be well below normal, with many
locations receiving less than 30 percent of their normal rainfall.
There has been some improvement over eastern portions of the area,
but rainfall totals since March 1 continue to be 7 to 10 inches
below normal. The following table shows the observed and normal
rainfall amounts, departure from normal and percentage of normal
from March 1 through June 21.
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Station |
Observed
Rainfall |
Normal
Rainfall |
Departure
from Normal |
Percent of
Normal |
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Alexandria,
LA |
9.84 |
19.57 |
-9.73 |
50 |
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Beaumont,
TX |
8.23 |
18.11 |
-9.88 |
45 |
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Lafayette,
LA |
8.62 |
18.67 |
-10.05 |
46 |
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Lake
Charles, LA |
9.26 |
17.58 |
-8.32 |
53 |
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New
Iberia, LA |
9.64 |
16.65 |
-7.01 |
58 |
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At this
point, a significant rainfall event, such as with a tropical system,
would be necessary to bring rainfall totals back to normal and end
the drought.
Keetch-Byram
Drought Index
(KBDI) is a measurement of the amount of precipitation necessary to
return the soil to saturation, and is an indication of the potential
for fires across an area. Values range from 0, which indicates
total saturation of the soil; to 800, which represents the maximum
drought possible.
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The
Keetch-Byram indices for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana
show high fire danger across the area, with levels of 500 to 600.
Some areas have KBDI values around 700, indicating very high fire
danger. The Texas Forestry Service and Louisiana Forestry Service
report that these values of 600 to 700 are historical highs. Fuel
moisture remains very low across the area resulting in extremely
high fire danger.
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The Crop
Moisture Index shows that much of southeast Texas and southern and
central Louisiana are experiencing very dry conditions. Some crops
are experiencing significant stress due to the lack of rainfall.
Daily
evaporation rates are between one quarter and one third of an inch.
Soil moisture is very short, around 2.5 to 4 inches below normal.
These dry conditions will continue to worsen until a significant
rainfall event can replenish soil moisture levels.
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Reservoir levels are running from about one to three
feet below normal pool levels. However, they remain in good
condition.
Drought conditions are expected to continue through
the short term, but the latest seasonal outlook indicates some
improvement in the drought over the next few months. Longer term
outlooks show near normal precipitation and temperatures for July.
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the image to see a larger version. |
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www.nws.noaa.gov 
