US Drought Monitor and Summary, Nov. 22, 2016

Coastal and northeastern Texas received half an inch or more of rain. D0 (Abnormally Dry) to D3 (Extreme Drought) were adjusted in Texas, D0-D3 expanded in parts of Oklahoma. As summarized by the National Weather Service, from an agricultural perspective, farmers and ranchers across extreme northeast Texas have already had to supplement winter hay as the pastures were dormant even before the first frost-freeze this past weekend, stock ponds are very low or dried up, and right now, one rancher in western Bowie County has stated that winter wheat probably will not come up if planted now. As noted by the Oklahoma State Climatologist, reservoirs in central Oklahoma have seen significant decreases in storage, producing significant water impacts. Lake Hefner and Overholser were 6 and 5 feet down, respectively, for this time of year, and Draper was down 12 feet, which is a bit drastic. Read more at droughtmonitor.unl.edu…