News - Blogs - The Illinois broke records a year ago ahead of disastrous drought

The Illinois broke records a year ago ahead of disastrous drought
Published: 4/27/2012 4:11 PM
Last Modified: 4/27/2012 4:11 PM

A month after floods inundated eastern Oklahoma, another round hit. Matthew Chapman (right)and his brother-in-law Ryan Loken carry a mattress through flood waters as they clear out Champman's home in the 800 block of Scraper street in Vinita on May 25, 2011, the day after flooding heavy rain filled up the neighborhood around 10 p.m. the previous night. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

A man braves the flood waters on a bulldozer as he makes his way south on Scraper street in Vinita, OK May 25, 2011, the day after flooding heavy reain filled up the neighborhood around 10pm the previous night. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

It was a terrible time to be on the Illinois River this time last year.

It was on April 26, 2011, that the river near Watts reached 28.6 feet, besting the old record by more than 2 feet.

For some perspective, the river right now at Watts is 2.7 feet.

Now, the Illinois is no stranger to floods. Part of the recreational appeal is its beauty that has been shaped by flood after flood over several millennia. And the fact that the floatable sections are still mostly wild and free means it will flood.

But last year was no ordinary flood.

More than 10 inches of rain fell in Tahlequah last April. In Fayetteville, an area in the Illinois River watershed, more than 15 inches of rain fell last April, including nearly 5 inches on April 25.

That caused flash floods in northwest Arkansas and Missouri that killed seven people.

All that water rushed down the already-swollen Illinois and quite literally sent it to new heights.

I went floating on the Illinois around the first of April last year, which was the perfect time. After the flood, most of the river was full of debris and made it nearly impossible to navigate. Even if you could, you would have been hard-pressed to find an outfitter who wasn’t nearly wiped away in the rising water.

That was a continuation of the insanity that was 2011. First we had blizzards, then we had this flood. Then the Illinois reached the third highest crest in recorded history when it hit 25 feet a month later.

Then the faucet was turned off. The Oklahoma Mesonet station at Tahlequah, that had 10 inches in April and nearly 7 inches in May recorded 1.5 inches in June then 0.58 inches in July.

Archives from the U.S. Drought monitor show how quickly that drought spread east until it reached its peak in September.

So how are we now? Pretty good!

Tulsa County hasn’t been in any drought category since March 13. Since then, thanks to several downpours we’ve had in Oklahoma, the percentage of the state in drought condition has decreased to about 25 percent. Most of that drought is still in western Oklahoma, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was last summer.

And it will continue to improve. While we are currently down for the month in rainfall total, there is a pretty good chance of storms Saturday night and Sunday. Considering we’re more than an inch above normal for the year, and with the wet month of May to go, we should be in pretty good condition going into summer.

I hope your gardens are enjoying this, aside from the heat… If they end up producing, don’t be a stranger! Let me know on Twitter. Also, check out the newly designed weather page, with more detailed forecasts from the National Weather Service!

--Jerry Wofford

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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