Category Archives: Drought

Rainfall totals from Wichita area’s overnight thunderstorms

8 May, 20132:54 p.m.

Raise your hand if you were awakened by the thunderstorms early Wednesday morning in the Wichita metropolitan area. I know I wasn’t alone.

Here’s a map showing rainfall totals as of 7 a.m. It was created by the Wichita branch of the National Weather Service.

Officially, Wichita recorded .58 of an inch from the overnight storm. That brings the precipitation for the year to 10.14 inches. That’s 1.92 inches above normal, according to meteorologist Ken Cook.

With rain possibilities in the forecast for the next several days, Wichita could see that total climb nicely.

But Cook added a note of perspective: last year at this same time, Wichita had recorded 13.38 inches.

“And then the rain shut off,” he said.

That set the stage for the flash drought that ravaged crops and prompted cities to set water use restrictions.

Dating back to 2010, Cook said, Wichita still has a precipitation deficit of more than 20 inches.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Rain, Thunderstorms | Comments

NOAA: Last year’s ‘flash drought’ not caused by global warming

19 April, 20136:00 a.m.

A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed last year’s intense drought over much of the Great Plains was caused by naturally occurring variations in weather patterns.

The study rules out abnormal ocean temperatures and human-induced climate change as major culprits. Read more about the study’s results by clicking on this link.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought | Comments

Precipitation totals from over the weekend

25 March, 20138:28 a.m.

The snow that fell this weekend in the Wichita area was a heavy, wet snow, forecasters say. That helped boost the moisture content – good news for an area still trying the free itself from the shackles of a long-term drought.

Southern Kansas still needs as much as 3 inches to ease the drought, according to the national drought monitor – though local forecasters say that the number is actually closer to 6 inches.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Rain | Comments

Shifting drought in Kansas

15 March, 20138:22 a.m.

Take a look at the two drought maps below, and you’ll see a slight improvement in Kansas over the previous week.

But you’ll have to look hard to notice it.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought | Comments

Drought appears likely to persist through April

22 January, 20134:47 p.m.

The latest drought outlook indicates dry conditions will persist or intensify through the end of April.

The Climate Prediction Center’s latest seasonal assessment is not optimistic for a large chunk of the country, either.

“During the upcoming three months, a much drier pattern is expected across the southern third of the nation (from central California to the eastern Gulf Coast). This limits the prospects for further drought improvements during the latter end of the wet season in California, Nevada, and western Arizona, and in fact increases the probabilities for drought development and deterioration in the tri-State area. This also marks a change from recent wet conditions in the southern Plains and western Gulf Coast as drought development and persistence is forecast for Texas by the end of April.”

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought | Comments

December’s dry opening dozen days joins elite list

13 December, 201210:01 p.m.

The 12 Days of Christmas may bring much variety to a true love, but the 12 days of December have been dry, dry, dry for Wichita.

It’s only the 10th time since records began being kept in 1888 that first 12 days of December saw no precipitation fall in Wichita, according to the local branch of the National Weather Service.

There were only two days of measurable precipitation in November – on the 10th and 11 – and the total of .55 was .88 of an inch below normal for the month.

Not counting days when a trace of rain fell, 59 of the last 61 days have lacked measurable precipitation in Wichita. The weather service recorded .08 on Oct. 13.

Wichita averages 32 inches of rain through mid-December, but has recorded less than 25 so far this year.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Rain | Comments Off

At long last, some meaningful rain for Wichita and Kansas

23 August, 20123:06 p.m.

A storm system could bring several inches of rain to the Wichita metropolitan area through the weekend and into early next week, forecasters say.

Here’s a projection of rainfall totals by Tuesday morning, from the Hydrometeorological Predction Center of the National Weather Service.

That won’t be enough to end the drought, but it’s a nice first step.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Rain | Comments Off

The Arkansas River is now dry in Wichita

22 August, 20123:36 p.m.

The National Weather Service branch in Wichita has posted photos of the dry Arkansas River bed near I-235 in west Wichita.

The river ran dry there for a few days last year, according to the weather service, but it’s not a common occurrence.

There is still water in the Ark near Maize, but it’s down to a record low level. The most recent USGS measurement taken today placed the flow at 0.45 cfs.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought | Comments Off

July muscles its way up the heat charts in Wichita

1 August, 20124:29 p.m.

Hideous.

That’s the word the National Weather Service in Wichita used in its monthly summary to describe the heat that closed out July.

A closer look at the numbers for July shows why: the 2012 edition has few peers in Wichita’s climate history.

After a rather modest beginning, the month transformed into a monster over the final two weeks. By the time it ended, July had 21 days of triple-digit temperatures.

Only two years recorded more 100s in July – 1980 and 2011, with 24 each.

Wichita hit 100 or more 14 of the last 15 days of July and set or tied record highs four times in six days at the end of the month.

The month’s average high of 102.2 ranks 2012 fourth all-time in recorded Wichita weather history. Only 1980, 1954 and 2011 topped this year.

The average temperature of 88.2 tied 2012 with 1934 for fourth place on the list of Wichita’s hottest Julys. That list is topped by 1980, with 2011 next and then 1954.

Wichita also set or tied two marks for warmest lows, on July 29 and 30.

Little more than a quarter-inch of rain fell at the National Weather Service office in west Wichita, making this July the sixth-driest on record.

It’s too soon to say August will simply be more of the same, weather service meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser said. Triple digits are expected through Saturday, but a strong cool front is expected to bring showers to the area this weekend.

One forecast model suggests the dome of high pressure that has cooked Kansas for the past few weeks will shift to the south and west, allowing cooler temperatures to dominate next week after the showers move through. But another indicates the dome will clamp back down “and crank the heat right back up,” Kleinsasser said.

We’ll find out the answer soon enough.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Heat, Rain, Records, Temperatures | Comments Off

Drought outlook offers grim fall forecast

31 July, 20121:58 p.m.

Don’t count on the change of seasons to bring meaningful rains to Kansas, forecasters say. If anything, the drought will only intensify.

Here’s a map of what the Climate Prediction Center projects through October:

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought | Comments Off