Skiatook Lake is very important to this drought report. In this September 2010 file photo, bass fishermen John King (at right) and Bill Ingram fish on Skiatook Lake. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World File
Happy Friday, you look like you could use a diversion.
Set the timer to 30 seconds and see if you can find the subtle, but present changes from last week's drought map to this week's.
Once again, here is what the colors mean:
Dark red: D4, or exceptional drought
Bright red: D3, or extreme drought
Orange: D2 or severe drought
Beige: D1, or moderate drought
Yellow: D0, or abnormally dry
White: Nothing
And... go!
Need a hint? Veer your eyes to the east.
...Time's up! Here's your usual gif image to make the changes more apparent:
For a more scientific, meteorological look at the drought, here's Oklahoma Climatological Survey associate state climatologist Gary McManus:
"The drought map this week has two main changes: more elimination of drought from southeastern Oklahoma and a reintroduction of extreme drought in Osage County," McManus said. "The relief in the southeast is due to the 1-2 inch rainfalls in that region."
I bet the first thing you noticed on the map was a large red spot northwest of Tulsa. Here's McManus' explanation:
"The addition of extreme drought in Osage County was due to an examination of reservoir levels in that area by the River Forecast Center in Tulsa.
"They noted that both Skiatook Lake and Birch Lake are at their lowest levels ever recorded. That reflects long-term drought impacts and will be a concern if those areas don't receive more moisture before the warm season."
Note that McManus said "rainfall," not "snowfall" when speaking about the southeastern relief. The drought report is compiled on Tuesday, so our area snowfall will be reflected in next week's report.
Speaking of snow, you should definitely check out Jerry's snow update in yesterday's blog (with video!)
here. Alaska definitely got more than 0.2 of an inch of snow this week!
-- Althea Peterson
PS: Want more Oklahoma and nationwide drought info? Check out the U.S. Drought Monitor at
tulsaworld.com/droughtarchive.
