On weeks when the changes are minor, I like to present readers with a challenge: Can you spot the drought map differences?
On the left is last week, Aug. 13, while the right state map shows the current drought conditions (finalized Tuesday, Aug. 20):
Here's a GIF to make the changes more apparent:
1- In north-central Oklahoma, just east of the Panhandle in Woods, Alfalfa, Grant and Kay counties, D0 for abnormally dry (yellow) and D1 for moderate drought (beige) improve to nothing (white).
2- A touch of D4 for exceptional drought (dark red) Texas County in the Panhandle improves to D3 for extreme drought (bright red).
3- A large spot of D3 disappears in southwest Oklahoma counties Ellis, Roger Mills and Beckham, improving to D2 for severe drought (orange) and even a little D1.
4- The only noticeable drought expansion of the week: D4 appears once again in the southwest counties of Jackson and Tillman.
No, I really don't have every Oklahoma county memorized. Weather maps aren't the only maps I look at each week for this report:
That challenge was just a warmup. Can you spot the differences between this week and one year ago?
How about between now and two years ago?
I'll give you until tomorrow to list everything, when I will return with the weekly weather milestone updates.
As for the drought in the Tulsa area, I fully expect to see at least a crack in our "nothing" status soon, as we return to mid-90s highs without rain.
--Althea Peterson
Follow Althea Peterson and Jerry Wofford on Twitter.
YOUR IN-DEPTH LOCAL NEWS SOURCE: Visit tulsaworld.com throughout the day for local breaking news and investigative reports about Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma.
