National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS San Angelo, TX
Versions: 1
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AXUS74 KSJT 281840
DGTSJT
TXC049-059-081-083-095-105-151-207-235-253-267-307-319-327-353-
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DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
140 PM CDT THU MAR 28 2013

...DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR (USDM)...ISSUED THROUGH THE NATIONAL
DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER ON MARCH 26...DEPICTS EXTREME TO
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS PARTS OF HASKELL...
THROCKMORTON...FISHER...JONES...SHACKELFORD...NOLAN...COKE...
STERLING...SUTTON...SCHLEICHER...CROCKETT AND MENARD COUNTIES.
IMPACTS OF EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS INCLUDE...
WIDESPREAD CROP AND PASTURE LOSSES...WIDESPREAD SHORTAGES OF WATER
IN RESERVOIRS...STREAMS AND WELLS. THE USDM DEPICTS SEVERE DROUGHT
CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.
IMPACTS OF SEVERE DROUGHT INCLUDE CROP OR PASTURE LOSSES
LIKELY...WATER SHORTAGES COMMON...WATER RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

FIRE DANGER IMPACTS.
AS OF MARCH 28...THE FOLLOWING WEST CENTRAL TEXAS COUNTIES
SUPPORT A COUNTY WIDE OUTDOOR BURN BAN...

IRION...SCHLEICHER...SUTTON...CROCKETT...TOM GREEN...CONCHO...
COKE...MENARD...MCCULLOCH...RUNNELS...NOLAN...CALLAHAN...
SHACKELFORD...FISHER AND THROCKMORTON COUNTIES.

THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE USES THE KEETCH-BYRAM DROUGHT INDEX
(KBDI) AS A SYSTEM FOR RELATING CURRENT AND RECENT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO POTENTIAL OR EXPECTED FIRE BEHAVIOR. IT IS A
NUMERICAL INDEX CALCULATED DAILY FOR EACH COUNTY. EACH NUMBER IS
AN ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION...IN HUNDREDTHS OF AN
INCH...NEEDED TO BRING THE SOIL BACK TO SATURATION. THE INDEX
RANGES FROM 0 TO 800...WITH 0 REPRESENTING A SATURATED SOIL AND
800 A COMPLETELY DRY SOIL. AS OF MARCH 28...THE KEETCH-BYRAM
DROUGHT INDEX SHOWS THAT SUTTON...MENARD...SCHLEICHER...KIMBLE...
STERLING...FISHER...JONES...HASKELL AND THROCKMORTON COUNTIES FALL
WITHIN THE 500 TO 700 RANGE. GENERALLY...THIS RANGE IS TYPICAL OF
LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL WHERE LOW LITTER AND DUFF LAYERS
CONTRIBUTE TO FIRE INTENSITY AND WILL BURN ACTIVELY. THE TEXAS
FOREST SERVICE ADVISES TO WATCH OUT FOR KEY WEATHER THRESHOLDS OF
WINDS ABOVE 15 MPH AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY BELOW 25 PERCENT. WHEN
THESE THRESHOLDS ARE EXCEEDED...EXPECT THE FIRE DANGER WILL BE
ELEVATED.

AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS.
ACCORDING TO THE TEXAS CROP WEATHER REPORT ISSUED MARCH 26 BY THE
TEXAS A&M AGRICULTURE PROGRAM...THE FOLLOWING AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS
WERE NOTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS... ONGOING WARM DRY AND WINDY
CONDITIONS WITH LOW HUMIDITY CONTINUED TO DRY OUT SOILS AND STRESS
CROPS. WILDFIRE DANGER WAS STILL A GREAT CONCERN AND THERE WERE
DAILY RED FLAG WARNINGS IN SOME AREAS. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE FIELD
ACTIVITY AS FIELD PREPARATIONS FOR SPRING PLANTING WERE MOSTLY
COMPLETED. SOME CORN FARMERS WERE PLANTING BUT MOST WERE EXPECTED
TO DELAY PLANTING UNTIL SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS IMPROVED. PRODUCERS
WERE SPRAYING HERBICIDES TO CONTROL WINTER WEEDS. WINTER WHEAT WAS
IN FAIR TO VERY POOR CONDITION. MANY WHEAT FIELDS WERE BEING
GRAZED OUT NOT GROWN FOR GRAIN BUT SOME PRODUCERS HOPED SOME
FIELDS COULD BE EVENTUALLY HARVESTED FOR HAY. RANGELAND AND
PASTURES SLIGHTLY IMPROVED AS WARM SEASON GRASSES CAME OUT OF
DORMANCY. HOWEVER SLOW GRASS GROWTH WAS EXPECTED DUE TO COOL
NIGHTS AND NO RAIN. LIVESTOCK REMAINED IN FAIR CONDITION WITH
CONTINUED SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING. STOCK POND WATER LEVELS CONTINUED
TO DROP WITH MANY PONDS CRITICALLY LOW OR COMPLETELY DRY. SOME
PRODUCERS WERE HAULING WATER.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

WEST CENTRAL TEXAS HAS ENDURED VERY DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE LAST
SEVERAL MONTHS. FROM OCTOBER 1 2012 THRU MARCH 27 2013...THE
FOLLOWING PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WERE RECORDED.

ABILENE RECEIVED 3.51 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. NORMAL RAINFALL
FOR THIS PERIOD IS ABOUT 9.52 INCHES.

SAN ANGELO RECEIVED 2.49 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. NORMAL RAINFALL
FOR THIS PERIOD IS ABOUT 8.32 INCHES.

JUNCTION RECEIVED 3.15 INCHES OF RAIN. NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THIS
PERIOD IS ABOUT 10.64 INCHES.


PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...CPC...INDICATES THAT ENSO NEUTRAL
CONDITIONS EXIST AND ARE FAVORED THROUGH SPRING 2013.

THE CPC OUTLOOK FOR THE PERIOD APRIL THROUGH JUNE INDICATES THAT
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS HAS ENHANCED CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES.

THE CPC PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR THE PERIOD APRIL THROUGH JUNE
INDICATES THAT THERE ARE ENHANCED CHANCES FOR BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

THE LATEST U.S. SEASONAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK FOR APRIL THROUGH
JUNE... ISSUED BY CPC...SHOWS DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSISTING ACROSS
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

HYDROLOGIC IMPACTS...
ACCORDING TO THE USGS WATERWATCH...GAGED STREAMFLOWS ACROSS WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS ARE GENERALLY MUCH BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF
YEAR.

RESERVOIR CONDITIONS AS OF MARCH 28...


/                    CURRENT   CONSERVATION     CURRENT             %
/                  ELEVATION       CAPACITY    CAPACITY  CONSERVATION
RESERVOIR               (FT)        (AC-FT)     (AC-FT)      CAPACITY

FORT PHANTOM HILL   1624.24           70030       33675           48
LAKE STAMFORD       1404.92           51570       12485           24
HUBBARD CREEK       1161.49          318070       87620           27
HORDS CREEK LAKE    1883.20            5780        1150           17
LAKE BROWNWOOD      1413.60          131428       68905           54
E.V. SPENCE         1833.86          517272       26200            5
O.C. FISHER         1849.93          119200           0            0
O.H. IVIE           1514.85          554340      114030           20
TWIN BUTTES (N+S)   1888.13          186200       10815            6
LAKE NASWORTHY      1870.36           10108        7690           76


NEXT ISSUANCE...

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AS 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/:

OUR LOCAL DROUGHT WEB PAGE...
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/SJT/?N=DROUGHT
HTTP://DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU/
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV/
OFFICE OF THE TEXAS STATE CLIMATOLOGIST...HTTP://WWW.MET.TAMU.EDU/OSC/
NWS...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS/
USGS...HTTP://WATER.USGS.GOV/
USACE...HTTP://WWW.MVR.USACE.ARMY.MIL/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER /CPC/...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

THE DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA/S
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND 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 OBSERVATION SITES...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
7654 KNICKERBOCKER ROAD
SAN ANGELO TEXAS  76904
PHONE: 325-944-9445
NWS.SANANGELO@NOAA.GOV


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National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
