Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Wichita, KS

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DROUGHT STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
930 PM CDT SAT APR 20 2013

...SHORT-TERM DROUGHT CONDITIONS HAVE IMPROVED...BUT LONG-TERM
DROUGHT PERSISTS ACROSS THE REGION...

.SYNOPSIS...

NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION SINCE FEBRUARY (ESPECIALLY
FEBRUARY AND APRIL) HAS ALLOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT IN SHORT-TERM
DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE REGION...MOST NOTABLY OVER FAR EASTERN
KANSAS. CHANGES IN SHORT-TERM DROUGHT AFFECTS CROPS AND OTHER
AGRICULTURAL ASPECTS...AS WELL AS RIVER AND STREAM LEVELS.
HOWEVER...LONG-TERM DROUGHT CONTINUES REGIONWIDE...DUE TO CONTINUED
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS THAT DATE BACK TO 2011...WITH CONDITIONS
WORSENING AS ONE TRAVELS WEST ACROSS KANSAS. THE PERSISTENT
LONG-TERM DROUGHT REMAINS EVIDENT THROUGH INSPECTION OF WELL BELOW
NORMAL RESERVOIR LEVELS...AQUIFERS...WELLS AND CONTINUED DEEP SOIL
MOISTURE DEFICITS. BOTTOM LINE...IT WILL TAKE A LOT MORE
PRECIPITATION TO DEFEAT THE LONG-TERM DROUGHT.

AS JUST STATED...FAR EASTERN KANSAS FAIRS THE BEST...WITH D0-D1
DROUGHT CONDITIONS (SEE BELOW FOR DROUGHT INTENSITY DEFINITIONS).
MUCH OF THE REST OF THE STATE IS ENCOMPASSED WITHIN D2-D3 LONG-TERM
DROUGHT...WITH PORTIONS OF WESTERN KANSAS IN D4 LONG-TERM DROUGHT.

.DROUGHT INTENSITY DEFINITIONS...

THERE ARE FIVE LEVELS OF INTENSITY DEPICTED ON THE UNITED STATES
DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM). USDM LEVELS ARE THE FOLLOWING:

D0 - ABNORMALLY DRY...GOING INTO DROUGHT - CAUSES SHORT-TERM DRYNESS
SLOWING PLANTING...GROWTH OF CROPS OR PASTURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE
FIRE RISK. COMING OUT OF DROUGHT - THERE ARE SOME LINGERING WATER
DEFICITS...PASTURES AND CROPS ARE NOT FULLY RECOVERED.

D1 - MODERATE DROUGHT...SOME DAMAGE TO CROPS OR PASTURES...HIGH FIRE
RISK EXISTS...STREAMS...RESERVOIRS OR WELLS ARE LOW...SOME WATER
SHORTAGES DEVELOP OR ARE IMMINENT AND VOLUNTARY USE RESTRICTIONS ARE
REQUESTED.

D2 - SEVERE DROUGHT...CROP OR PASTURE LOSSES ARE LIKELY...FIRE RISK
IS VERY HIGH...WATER SHORTAGES ARE COMMON...WATER RESTRICTIONS MAY
BE IMPOSED.

D3 - EXTREME DROUGHT...MAJOR CROP AND PASTURE LOSSES...FIRE DANGER IS
EXTREME AND WIDESPREAD WATER SHORTAGES AND RESTRICTIONS ARE
POSSIBLE.

D4 - EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT...EXCEPTIONAL AND WIDESPREAD CROP AND
PASTURE LOSSES...EXCEPTIONAL FIRE DANGER EXISTS...SHORTAGES OF WATER
IN RESERVOIRS...STREAMS...AND WELLS OCCUR CREATING WATER
EMERGENCIES.

.CLIMATE SUMMARY...

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS PRECIPITATION DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL OVER
THE PAST YEAR FROM APRIL 2012 THROUGH APRIL 19TH...2013 FOR
SALINA...WICHITA AND CHANUTE. AS THE BELOW TABLE SHOWS...LONG-TERM
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS ACROSS CENTRAL...SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
KANSAS RUN ANYWHERE FROM 9 TO NEARLY 14 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

            SALINA      WICHITA     CHANUTE
MONTH      DEPARTURE   DEPARTURE   DEPARTURE
APR 2012    -0.12        +2.65       +0.62
MAY         -4.35        -2.47       -2.54
JUN         -1.89        -2.65       -3.26
JUL         -2.25        -3.06       -3.37
AUG         -1.25        -0.33       -0.49
SEP         -0.64        -0.50       +1.53
OCT         -1.08        -2.46       -1.55
NOV         -0.93        -0.88       -1.16
DEC         -0.83        -0.86       -1.06
JAN 2013    +0.25        -0.26       +1.11
FEB         +1.22        +1.27       +1.19
MAR         -1.77        -0.58       -1.59
APR 1-19    -0.06        +0.48       -1.03
TOTAL      -13.70        -9.65      -11.60

.SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS...

DUE TO STEADY PRECIPITATION EVENTS...SHALLOW SOIL MOISTURE DEFICITS
HAVE DECREASED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS...ALTHOUGH THEY STILL REMAIN
BELOW NORMAL. DEEPER SOIL MOISTURE DEFICITS STILL REMAIN BELOW TO
WELL BELOW NORMAL REGIONWIDE...ALTHOUGH LESS NOTICABLE OVER FAR
EASTERN KANSAS.

.RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS...

RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS HAVE IMPROVED REGIONWIDE OVER THE
PAST FEW MONTHS...WITH A HANDFUL OF STREAMS ACTUALLY RUNNING NEAR TO
SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. HOWEVER...THERE STILL REMAINS SEVERAL STREAMS
AND RIVERS THAT ARE RUNNING BELOW TO WELL BELOW NORMAL.

.PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS ISSUED BY THE CLIMATE
PREDICTION CENTER...THERE ARE SLIGHTLY GREATER PROBABILITIES OF
WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH MID-SUMMER. THE LONG-RANGE
PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK THROUGH MID-SUMMER IS UNCERTAIN...WITH EQUAL
CHANCES OF ABOVE...NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. BOTTOM
LINE...IF THIS LONG-TERM DROUGHT IS GOING TO BREAK (OR AT LEAST BE
INFLICTED A SUBSTANTIAL BLOW)...THE REGION NEEDS TO RECEIVE ABOVE
NORMAL PRECIPITATION THIS SPRING-SUMMER..AS SPRING-SUMMER IS
TYPICALLY THE WET SEASON ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS.
FURTHERMORE...THIS WIDESPREAD RAINFALL CANNOT COME ALL AT ONCE LEST
IT RUNS OFF TOO QUICKLY AND DOES NOT SOAK INTO THE GROUND.
INSTEAD...IT NEEDS TO OCCUR OVER INTERVALS OF TIME (E.G. ONE INCH
THIS WEEK...ANOTHER INCH NEXT WEEK...ETC).

.QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

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

ERIC SCHMINKE OR ANDY KLEINSASSER
DROUGHT FOCAL POINTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
2142 SOUTH TYLER RD
WICHITA, KS 67209
316-942-3102
ERIC.SCHMINKE@NOAA.GOV OR ANDY.KLEINSASSER@NOAA.GOV

.RELATED WEB SITES...

US DROUGHT MONITOR         HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM
KANSAS WATER OFFICE        HTTP://WWW.KWO.ORG
US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY       HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV/WATERWATCH/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER  HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/INDEX.HTML
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE   HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/ICT
NWS WICHITA DROUGHT PAGE   HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/ICT/?N=DROUGHT

ALL WEB SITES SHOULD BE IN LOWER CASE CHARACTERS.

.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

THE US DROUGHT MONITOR IS A WEEKLY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN A
NUMBER OF FEDERAL AGENCIES INCLUDING NOAA/NWS... US DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE... STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE
NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT
HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES... THE USGS AND
THE KANSAS WATER OFFICE.

.NEXT ISSUANCE...

THE NEXT ISSUANCE OF THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT WILL BE
ISSUED BY MID-MAY.

$$

ADK
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