Drought Monitor and Summary for Jan. 30, 2018

South Region Drought Summary
Eastern portions of the South region were wet, with two or more inches of rain falling from southeast Texas, across southern Louisiana, to southern Mississippi. Conditions were much drier in the western portions of the South region.
No precipitation fell this week across western portions of Oklahoma and Texas. In fact, southeast Oklahoma, where half an inch of rain was observed, was the only part of that state having more than a tenth of an inch.
Most of Texas had less than a tenth of an inch of precipitation this week.
This week was a continuation of very dry conditions in western Texas, western Oklahoma, and eastern New Mexico which have lasted for over three months; October 2017 was the last month when appreciable precipitation fell.
In Texas, the Amarillo International Airport has had 109 consecutive days with no measurable precipitation as of Jan. 30, edging out Jan. 3, 1957, whose dry run lasted 75 consecutive days. Canyon went 102 days without measurable rain through Jan. 16, which was the second longest dry streak behind the 104 days ending on Jan. 15, 1956.
Guymon, Oklahoma, has had only 0.04 inch of precipitation since Oct. 11, 2017.
As summarized by the National Drought Mitigation Center, drought has slowed the growth of winter wheat and other cool-season forages, and pasture conditions were generally poor and deteriorating, in Oklahoma. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics, 93 percent of Oklahoma’s topsoil moisture was rated short or very short of moisture (dry to very dry); 49 percent of the pastures and rangeland, and 79 percent of the winter wheat crop, were rated in poor to very poor condition. These are increases from 31 percent and 42 percent, respectively, compared to a month ago.
Sixty-eight percent of the rye crop, 65 percent of oats, and 55 percent of the canola crop were rated in poor to very poor condition.
According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, several large wildfires were burning across Oklahoma and Texas, and the governor of Oklahoma has issued a burn ban for the western half of the state. D0-D3 expanded in Texas and D1-D3 expanded in Oklahoma.
Looking ahead: For Feb. 1-6, a ridge will set up over the western U.S., blocking storm systems and bringing warmer-than-normal temperatures, while a trough will dominate the East with colder-than-normal air masses. No precipitation is in the forecast for the Southwest to southern Plains.
Fronts and surface lows will pick up Gulf of Mexico moisture as they travel into the eastern trough, bringing half an inch to an inch of precipitation from eastern Texas to the East Coast.
Read more at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.