Livestock Wx for March 2, 2018: Repeat performance for rain, but will we see change in the next 10 days?

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Livestock Wx for March 2, 2018: In a repeat performance it rained everywhere except where it was needed. Will we see any change in the next 10 days?
It almost feels like the belief that it will rain everywhere except where it is needed has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Over the last 14-days it is has rained quite a bit over North Texas and southeast Oklahoma. The Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle received very minor amounts of precipitation and as a result the drought continues there.
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor shows significant improvement for the region. In Texas, the area considered in drought dropped from more than 70 percent to around 55 percent, while in Oklahoma, they went from almost 100 percent of the state being drought to approximately 66 percent this week. Those are big drops but one thing that should be pointed out is that the areas in Extreme Drought (D3) did not change. As you probably guessed those areas are West Texas and the Panhandle. The image below shows precipitation over the last 14-days next to percent of normal precipitation from October to present. As you can see, we are running deficits still over a large part of the region despite the recent good moisture.
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report from Texas AgriLife, wheat and pasture conditions in these areas were poor to fair and the lack of moisture is starting to strain stock tanks. As others have also reported, stocker cattle were being moved to areas with better pasture or to feed/grow yards.

10-Day Forecast
Looking at the NOAA GFS model, parts of Texas and Oklahoma will see some relatively minor precipitation over the next 10-days (see image below). The western half of Texas and Oklahoma, however, will not see much in the way of moisture. Next week, temperatures will be above-normal for most of the region before cooling off on Wednesday.

That’s it for this week.  If you have any questions about conditions around Texas and Oklahoma please contact us at [email protected]