National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Shreveport, LA
Versions: 1 2
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DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1100 PM CDT MON MAY 6 2013

...BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL THROUGHOUT APRIL HAS RESULTED IN PERSISTENT
DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS PORTIONS OF EXTREME NORTHEAST TEXAS...SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA...AND ADJACENT SECTIONS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...

SYNOPSIS...

APRIL WILL BE REMEMBERED AS AN ABNORMALLY COOL MONTH...DUE TO A SERIES OF
COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES THAT BROUGHT BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY
TO THE REGION. WITH THESE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES CAME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH WERE MORE PLENTIFUL ACROSS THE LOWER TOLEDO BEND
COUNTRY...MUCH OF NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHCENTRAL ARKANSAS.
RAINFALL WAS A BIT MORE SCARCE THOUGH OVER THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF EAST
TEXAS AS WELL AS SOUTHERN MCCURTAIN COUNTY OKLAHOMA AND ADJACENT SOUTHWEST
ARKANSAS. WINDY CONDITIONS WERE COMMON THROUGHOUT THE MONTH...WHICH
CONTRIBUTED TO THE DRYING OF TOPSOIL MOISTURE ACROSS THOSE AREAS THAT WERE
DEFICIENT OF RAIN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS. MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS OF
THREE TO FIVE INCHES WERE OBSERVED MAINLY EAST OF A HUNTINGTON AND CENTER
TEXAS...TO SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA...TO TEXARKANA AND NASHVILLE ARKANSAS LINE.
THREE TO FIVE INCH AMOUNTS WERE ALSO NOTED ACROSS NORTHERN MCCURTAIN COUNTY
OKLAHOMA ALONG AND NORTH OF BROKEN BOW LAKE. MONTHLY TOTALS OF AN INCH AND
A HALF TO THREE INCHES WERE COMMON ELSEWHERE ACROSS EAST TEXAS...SOUTHERN
MCCURTAIN COUNTY OKLAHOMA...AND ADJACENT SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS NEAR DEQUEEN.

THE NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL OVER THE LOWER TOLEDO BEND COUNTRY AND
ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA DID RESULT IN THE REMOVAL OF THE
ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS THESE AREAS OBSERVED TO START THE MONTH OF
APRIL. MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST THOUGH ACROSS THE WESTERN
SECTIONS OF EAST TEXAS SOUTH AND WEST OF A LUFKIN...TO JACKSONVILLE...
TYLER...AND CLARKSVILLE LINE...AS WELL AS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF MCCURTAIN
COUNTY OKLAHOMA AND MUCH OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...SOUTH OF A DEQUEEN...TO
HOPE AND PRESCOTT LINE. ABNORMALLY DRY (D0) CONDITIONS REMAIN IN PLACE
ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF EAST TEXAS AS WELL AS EXTREME NORTHWEST LOUISIANA
INCLUDING THE SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY AND MINDEN AREAS. ONLY A SMALL PART
OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS REMAINS IN THESE ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS
SURROUNDING THE MODERATE DROUGHT AREA...MAINLY WEST OF A MAGNOLIA...TO
BLUFF CITY LINE.


SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS.
DESPITE THE COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES DURING APRIL...WINDY
CONDITIONS AND BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL HAVE RESULTED IN DIMINISHED SOIL
MOISTURE ACROSS MUCH OF EAST TEXAS...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...AND ADJACENT
SECTIONS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. THE UNUSUALLY COOLER NIGHTTIME
TEMPERATURES HAVE SLOWED THE GROWTH OF WARM SEASON GRASSES...WITH SOME
AREAS LOSING VEGETABLES TO RECENT FROSTS AND LIGHT FREEZES.

FIRE DANGER IMPACTS.
NO BURN BANS ARE IN EFFECT AT THIS TIME.

CURRENT WATER RESTRICTIONS.
AQUIFER LEVELS REMAIN ABNORMALLY LOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. CITIES IN
NORTHEAST TEXAS THAT REMAIN UNDER A VOLUNTARY OR A MILD RATIONING OF WATER
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE INCLUDE: PITTSBURG...GLADEWATER...WHITE OAK...
MARSHALL...HALLSVILLE...TYLER...NACOGDOCHES...MELROSE...SAN AUGUSTINE...
CENTER...HEMPHILL...BULLARD...GILMER...HAWKINS...AND HUNTINGTON. OTHER
SMALLER WATER SYSTEMS ACROSS EAST TEXAS ALSO REMAIN UNDER VOLUNTARY OR A
MILD RATIONING OF WATER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.


CLIMATE SUMMARY...

BELOW IS A LIST OF THE 13 MONTH RAINFALL TOTALS SINCE DROUGHT CONDITIONS
REDEVELOPED IN LATE APRIL 2012...THEIR DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...AND THEIR
PERCENTAGES OF NORMAL...FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS ACROSS THE FOUR STATE REGION:

CITY:           APRIL `12 - MAY `13         DEPARTURE       PERCENTAGE
                  (THROUGH 5/5/13)         FROM NORMAL       OF NORMAL

SHREVEPORT LA            55.80                -2.53             96%

SHREVEPORT LA            54.96                -5.83             90%
(SOUTH SHREVEPORT/SOUTHERN HILLS OFFICIAL COOPERATIVE OBSERVING STATION)

MONROE LA                68.08                +8.98            115%

NATCHITOCHES LA          62.40                +1.80            103%

TEXARKANA AR             34.63               -19.70             64%

EL DORADO AR             47.84                -9.53             83%

HOPE 3NE AR              47.49               -12.13             80%

NASHVILLE AR             44.78               -16.20             73%

DEQUEEN AR               27.55               -26.23             51%

TYLER POUNDS FIELD TX    42.11               -10.41             80%

TYLER (CITY) TX          39.23                -9.47             81%

LONGVIEW TX              43.63                -9.67             82%

LUFKIN TX                40.73                -8.82             82%


SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MESONET STATIONS...
MT. HERMAN               40.64               -18.87             68%
BROKEN BOW               39.75               -19.76             67%
IDABEL                   38.04               -23.05             62%


BELOW IS A LIST OF THE APRIL CUMULATIVE RAINFALL TOTALS...THEIR
DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...AND THEIR PERCENTAGES OF NORMAL...FOR
SELECTED LOCATIONS ACROSS THE REGION:

CITY:                 APRIL 2013          DEPARTURE       PERCENTAGE
                                         FROM NORMAL       OF NORMAL

SHREVEPORT LA           3.18               -1.01             76%

SHREVEPORT LA           4.24               -0.12             97%
(SOUTH SHREVEPORT/SOUTHERN HILLS OFFICIAL COOPERATIVE OBSERVING STATION)

MONROE LA               5.45               +0.95            121%

NATCHITOCHES LA         6.43               +1.78            138%

COLUMBIA LA             7.40               +2.25            144%

TEXARKANA AR            2.77               -1.17             70%

EL DORADO AR            4.31               +0.22            105%

HOPE 3NE AR             4.00               -0.56             88%

NASHVILLE AR            4.29               -0.45             91%

DEQUEEN AR              1.78               -2.15             45%

MOUNT PLEASANT TX       3.74               +0.25            107%

TYLER POUNDS FIELD TX   2.21               -0.96             70%

TYLER (CITY) TX         2.81               -0.29             91%

LONGVIEW TX             2.47               -0.75             77%

LUFKIN TX               2.23               -0.82             73%


SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MESONET STATIONS...
MT. HERMAN              5.36               +1.04            124%
BROKEN BOW              2.12               -2.20             49%
IDABEL                  2.22               -2.05             52%


PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...NEAR TO SLIGHTLY
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN TO THE REGION TUESDAY...AND PERSIST
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AS A SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE NORTH FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO. WHILE ISOLATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AREAWIDE THURSDAY...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY ESPECIALLY ACROSS
EAST TEXAS...NORTH LOUISIANA...AND POSSIBLY SOUTHCENTRAL ARKANSAS...AS AN
UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE PROGRESSES EAST ACROSS THE REGION. ADDITIONAL
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...BEFORE ANOTHER COLD FRONT PUSHES SOUTH THROUGH
THE REGION. TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE
AREAWIDE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...WITH THE HIGHEST TOTALS
OVER EAST TEXAS AND NORTH LOUISIANA. A REINFORCEMENT OF COOLER AND DRIER
AIR WILL FOLLOW THE FRONTAL PASSAGE SUNDAY...WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
AND LOWER HUMIDITY RETURNING TO THE AREA MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A RETURN TO
NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED BY MID TO LATE NEXT WEEK...AS A
SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS TO THE AREA.

THE THREE MONTH TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FOR MAY-JUNE-JULY...ISSUED BY
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC)...INDICATES HIGHER PROBABILITIES
FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. THE THREE MONTH
PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK THROUGH JULY DOES INDICATE EQUAL CHANCES FOR SEEING
BELOW NORMAL...NORMAL...AND ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL OVER MUCH OF THE REGION.
AT THIS TIME...NEAR NEUTRAL CONDITIONS IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC OCEAN
ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE SUMMER MONTHS...RESULTING IN VERY
LITTLE SKILL IN FORECASTING CERTAIN PRECIPITATION PATTERNS OVER THE AREA.


HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

THE BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL OBSERVED DURING APRIL HAS NOT RESULTED IN ANY
IMPROVEMENT TO AREA LAKES AND RESERVOIRS OVER THE CYPRESS AND MIDDLE
SABINE BASINS...WHERE POOL STAGES AT LAKE FORK...BOB SANDLIN AND LAKE OF
THE PINES REMAIN SOME TWO TO FIVE FEET BELOW NORMAL. SOME SLIGHT DEFICIENCY
CONTINUES ACROSS THE NECHES BASIN AS WELL...AS SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR
HAS FALLEN TO NEARLY TWO FEET BELOW NORMAL. SOME IMPROVEMENT IS EXPECTED
THIS WEEKEND AS RAINFALL INCREASES FROM THE WEST. ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE LOWER
RED AND OUACHITA BASINS...POOL STAGES REMAIN NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.


NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THE NEXT DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY EARLY JUNE.

&&

RELATED WEB SITES...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT HOMEPAGE: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/SHV
NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM: WWW.DROUGHT.GOV
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR: WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML
DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER: WWW.DROUGHTREPORTER.UNL.EDU
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER: WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV
LA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY: WWW.LOSC.LSU.EDU
TX OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY: WWW.MET.TAMU.EDU/OSC
OK CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY: HTTP://CLIMATE.OK.GOV
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV
TEXAS A&M AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS-AGNEWS: HTTP://AGNEWS.TAMU.EDU
LA DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY: HTTP://WWW.LDAF.STATE.LA.US/
TEXAS FOREST SERVICE: HTTP://TEXASFORESTSERVICE.TAMU.EDU
ARKANSAS FIRE INFO: HTTP://WWW.ARKFIREINFO.ORG
OKLAHOMA FORESTRY SERVICES: HTTP://WWW.FORESTRY.OK.GOV/WILDLAND-FIRE
LSU AG CENTER: HTTP://WWW.LSUAGCENTER.COM


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR FACILITATES COLLABORATION AMONGST VARIOUS
AGENCIES...INCLUDING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...STATE
CLIMATOLOGISTS...THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...AND THE U.S. DROUGHT
MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FROM THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED
FROM NWS/FAA OBSERVATION SITES...THE USDA...CORPS OF ENGINEERS...USGS...
TEXAS FOREST SERVICE...TEXAS INTERAGENCY COORDINATION CENTER...
ARKANSAS FORESTRY COMMISSION...AND THE OKLAHOMA FORESTRY SERVICES.


QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION
STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE
5655 HOLLYWOOD AVE.
SHREVEPORT LA 71109

PHONE: (318) 631-3669
EMAIL: SR-SHV.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV

$$

15/HANSFORD
National Weather Service Regional Office
