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susanlynne48

Do We Really Need This Much Rain?

susanlynne48
10 years ago

Moore has gotten 5" so far, and the rain is only increasing here in OKC as I write. I am certain that I am tired of the rain this week, but I recall seeing on the news that we may be locked in this pattern for several days. Are our weather folks around to address that issue? Like when will this stop?

Lots of road flooding going on, and I know my garden is well saturated. I am assuming the drought is over?

Anyway, it is going to drive me crazy cuz I, and I'm sure others, have work they still need to do in the garden.....I. don't like being forced to stay inside this much for Pete's sake! (Laughing hysterically)

Susan

Comments (14)

  • Lisa_H OK
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks like OKC might be just about over the drought. Western OK still looks pretty bad.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Drought Monitor

  • Macmex
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've had my fill of drought, to the point that I am still enjoying every bit of rain we get. Remember, I'm native to NJ, where it rarely goes three days between rains.;) Also, my main garden actually drains to the point of being workable, within 24 hours of almost any rain.

    It is SO NICE to look out over lush green pastures again, even if I am slapping mosquitoes while doing it!

    But I feel for you Susan. I bet Larry's garden is really soggy too.

    George
    Tahlequah, OK

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    While some people's yards and gardens likely don't need any more rain at the moment, I bet there's still lots of lakes and reservoirs as well as farmer's/rancher's stock tanks that need it.

    We are locked into this pattern for the next several days and, in fact, I think the SPC had a little surprise this morning. Last night when I looked at the Convective Outlook for today, it didn't look bad for any part of OK. This morning? Far SW OK and adjacent parts of TX are in a Moderate Risk area and a larger portion of the region is under a Slight Risk area for today.So, I guess Severe Weather will be ongoing today. A lot of us already currently have or have had severe thunderstorm warnings this morning.

    My area just moved back into Severe Drought from Extreme Drought on this week's Drought Monitor map. Another couple of inches this week might move us back to only Moderate Drought on next week's Drought Monitor. Much of OK, mostly west of I-35, still needs a whole lot of rain. Those of you in the white areas on the Drought Monitor map technically don't need more rain in terms of drought, but if your reservoirs are low, then you still need it even if your drought conditions have ended.

    Also, a lot of us get our water from water companies that have wells that tap water in the underground aquifers, and those aquifers have been tapped heavily for water use the last few years, so it is good if we get a lot of rain to recharge the aquifers.

    Like George, I still am appreciating every drop that falls here because we do need it. We've had decent rain in the last week, but need several more inches just to get normal rainfall for May. Since May is usually our wettest month, this week is not really abnormal. It just becomes a problem when the storms train over the same area over and over and over leaving the ground heavily saturated. That is what a lot of folks in central and eastern OK have dealt with this spring, and it is continuing today.

    I was outside very early and got some work done before the approaching thunderstorm sent me fleeing indoors. I hope to be able to go back out and slosh through mud and puddles shortly. If it stays too wet and muddy, I have molasses feed tubs that I am ready to fill with soil-less mix and plant. They are too heavy to easily move when full, so I had been waiting for the worst of the possible severe weather to pass before planting them. Often, these containers don't get planted until the in-ground gardens are 100% full, which they are not....they are about 90% full, but instead of getting that last 10% done today, I may work with the containers instead.

    At the low end of the garden, which was the last area rototilled and planted not too long before last week's rain, the soil is all fluffy and soft from being tilled so recently, so when I stepped into it yesterday to weed the corn, I found myself ankle deep in mud. With more rain falling now as I type this, I likely will need to stay out of that lower end of the garden for another few days.

    In June or July y'all may be wishing for some rain like you're getting this week.

    For the sake of the folks cleaning up from the damaging storms that have occurred in several parts of OK this week, I think it is a shame that rain is falling and perhaps ruining some of the possessions they have been trying to find and salvage from the rubble. I wish they were having a dry day to continue that sort of work.

    George, We have lots of mosquitoes here too. I've been slapping away at them as well.

    Dawn

  • helenh
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I missed the damaging storms although we had warnings but I also missed the rain. I got .1inch one time and another .25 and that is all in the last week. The TV anchor said twice now please rain stop, they got more in most of this area I guess. I don't really get good weather reporting. They will say every temperature all around when you can plainly see it on the screen but only report spotty rain amounts.

    I love to pull weeds in light misty rain and I go outside in it unless I hear thunder. I think we are out of the drought here but dry is normal here in summer. That is when I pay for my excesses in planting.

  • MiaOKC
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure how much rain we've gotten at my house today, but it's been pouring since about 4am so I'm sure it's quite a lot. It can rain all week, but please be dry on the weekends! (except in Moore and Shawnee and Little Axe areas - dry full time there, please!)

    I'm sure it's only raining in my 'hood because I finally removed the "hail hats" yesterday morning, which had been on since Saturday. That's the signal to start hail and torrential downpour, evidently.

  • seeker1122
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm with George. I'm getting rain more often than the last 10 years I've lived here but I don't get much at once like OKC, Kingfisher , Peidmont or ElReno. There might be a light rain but then I still have to water. I'm loving the green too. I did get hail early this morning but Only once in 10 years has it done damage. I guess I'll go check and see if 4am was an exception.
    TREE

  • OklaMoni
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, I think we need it. Even in OKC. When I dug a hole in the middle of my lawn (not irrigated) only the top 4 - 6 inches were moist. Very dry hard soil under that.

    So, I think, we need more rain.

    Moni

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hate to see the tornado victims getting more weather. I am happy to see all the rain elsewhere. We have ponds around us that have been dry for years and now finally have some good amounts of water in them. I think skiatook lake is still 12 or 13 feet below normal. Might go up now that todays rain is hitting that area pretty good.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have had almost 3" of rain in the last week and our ponds still are bone dry. I am starting to think that our ponds never will hold water in them ever again, and our swamp hasn't been swampy in years.

  • faerybutterflye
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I made myself a promise during the last couple of drought-ridden springs & summers that I would never again gripe about any rain at all. I have been very happy to see the almost 7" of rain that we've gotten here this month! Lord knows, we need it. The lakes around are still pretty low, but hopefully they will be up some from all this rain. I do wish that I'd known all this flooding rain was coming before I planted my groundcover out front...poor things have been nearly washed away several times now. And a few of my side flowerbeds were also washed over, but I'm so grateful for the rain, I don't even mind.

    I could live without all the tornadoes & power outages due to lightning & straight-line winds. We had some close calls here in Tish, but were very lucky to escape the worst of things. We just got our power back on yesterday after 2 straight days of it being off. Our little power outage problem here pales in comparison to the tragedies up in Moore & down in Texas. I don't even feel like I have any right to gripe about the trivial things, like losing a whole fridge full of food...at least I have a roof over my head & a place to lay my head down to sleep at night.

  • seeker1122
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I road up to Canton lake last Sunday. WOW!
    They had to drain it for OKC water supply and the only water going thru there is the river.
    I would take my sedoos there at least twice a year and always caught big good fish. It was sad to see. They wouldn't even let you near the lake.
    There are still lots of RV's and the prarie dog farm has grown.
    That lake needs rain. SAD (OH yea the water there when full was clear waste deep you could see your feet)
    TREE

  • lat0403
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Our lake is like that, except the water's never been clear. Luckily, it's not where our water comes from. It was a really nice lake and had always been used for recreation, but the real purpose of the lake was irrigation. Every year, they'd drain the lake irrigating and every year we'd get enough rain during the winter and spring to fill it back up. And then we didn't. They drained it in 2010 like normal and then we didn't get any rain in 2011. Any rain we got in 2012 only made up for the evaporation caused by how hot 2011 was. Now it's really bad. You couldn't get a boat into it if you wanted and nobody wants to anyway. The water is gross. Especially now because all the fish have died. They won't even clean the dead animals up so they're just all over the beach. It needs to be dredged so this doesn't happen so easily but they won't do that either. They say there would have to be all kinds of studies done first, but I don't know why. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like anything is living in it as it is.

    It's too bad we got a whole 0.14" of rain this week. That lake could've used all of your inches combined.

    Leslie

  • broken_lady
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Don't feel to bad about your lakes. I live just west of Kaw Lake and they keep draining it for the lakes down by Tulsa. Even the north end (Arkansas River) up near Ark City is just a swamp, no longer a river. Guess mayby with all the rain up here, they will stop opening the Dam completely.

    And yes, we need all the rain we can get.

  • chickencoupe
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The monitor is not correct for my area, I think. We're done with the drought in my little fish bowl area right on the border of two zones.

    But, yeah, we need all this rain and a bit more.

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