ALL OF CENTRAL…SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS EXPERIENCED RAINFALL DEFICITS DURING THE MONTHS OF MARCH AND APRIL. FOR EXAMPLE… DURING THIS 2-MONTH PERIOD…WICHITA MEASURED 2.43 INCHES OF RAIN WHICH IS 2.85
INCHES BELOW NORMAL. CHANUTE MEASURED 4.94 INCHES BUT THIS IS 2.36 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. HOWEVER…OF THE 3 PRIMARY CLIMATE STATIONS SALINA EXPERIENCED THE GREATEST DEFICIT OF ALL BY MEASURING A SCANT 2.28 INCHES
WHICH IS 3.40 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE RELIEF FROM THE RAINFALL DEFICIT. UP TO AND INCLUDING THE 15TH…WICHITA HAD MEASURED ONLY 0.21 INCH OF RAIN WHICH WAS 1.49 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.

IN CENTRAL KANSAS…SALINA HAD MEASURED 0.25 INCH…WHICH IS 1.97 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. EQUALLY SIGNFICANT IS THAT BOTH CLIMATE SITES HAD MEASURED 0.10 INCH OR MORE ON ONLY ONE DATE.

OF THE 3 CLIMATE SITES ONLY CHANUTE HAD EXPERIENCED A RAINFALL SURPLUS THROUGH THE 15TH…BY MEASURING 2.22
INCHES…BUT THIS WAS ONLY 0.04 INCH ABOVE NORMAL. AS A RESULT…AREAS AFFECTED BY A SEVERE DROUGHT HAS NOW SPREAD NORTH AND NORTHEAST ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS TO FAR AS NORTH AND NORTHEAST AS GREAT BEND
MCPHERSON…COTTONWOOD FALLS AND EL DORADO.

.LOCAL AREAS AFFECTED…

FROM THE END OF MARCH TO MID-APRIL THE MAGNITUDE OF DRYNESS WAS ESSENTIALLY UNCHANGED…WITH MODERATE DROUGHT CONFINED TO SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS WITH ABNORMAL DRYNESS EXPERIENCED IN MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. HOWEVER…AS APRIL PASSED THE MID-WAY POINT…DROUGHT GRADUALLY INTENSIFIED IN EXTREME SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS WITH SEVERE DROUGHT EXPERIENCED IN HARPER COUNTY AS WELL AS SOUTHEAST KINGMAN… WESTERN SUMNER…AND SOUTHWEST SEDGWICK COUNTIES.

MEANWHILE…MODERATE DROUGHT HAD SPREAD ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL KANSAS AND MOST OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS. THE DROUGHT WILL PERSIST OR INTENSIFY FURTHER THROUGH THE END
OF JULY. WHEN MID-MAY ARRIVED…SEVERE DROUGHT HAD SPREAD ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS TO AS FAR NORTH AS GREAT BEND AND MCPHERSON AND AS FAR NORTHEAST AS COTTONWOOD FALLS AND EL DORADO. MODERATE DROUGHT HAD SPREAD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

THERE ARE FIVE LEVELS OF INTENSITY DEPICTED ON THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR
(USDM). THE 5 LEVELS ARE:

D0 – ABNORMALLY DRY… GOING INTO DROUGHT – CAUSES SHORT-TERM DRYNESS
SLOWING PLANTING… GROWTH OF CROPS OR PASTURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE FIRE
RISK. COMING OUT OF DROUGHT – THERE ARE SOME LINGERING WATER DEFICITS
WITH PASTURES AND CROPS NOT FULLY RECOVERED.

D1 – MODERATE DROUGHT… SOME DAMAGE TO CROPS OR PASTURES…HIGH FIRE
RISK EXISTS… STREAMS… RESERVOIRS OR WELLS ARE LOW… SOME WATER
SHORTAGES DEVELOP OR ARE IMMINENT AND VOLUNTARY USE RESTRICTIONS ARE
REQUESTED.

D2 – SEVERE DROUGHT… CROP OR PASTURE LOSSES ARE LIKELY… FIRE RISK
IS VERY HIGH… WATER SHORTAGES ARE COMMON… WATER RESTRICTIONS MAY BE
IMPOSED.

D3 – EXTREME DROUGHT… MAJOR CROP AND PASTURE LOSSES… FIRE DANGER IS
EXTREME AND WIDESPREAD WATER SHORTAGES AND RESTRICTIONS ARE POSSIBLE.

D4 – EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT… EXCEPTIONAL AND WIDESPREAD CROP AND PASTURE
LOSSES… EXCEPTIONAL FIRE DANGER EXISTS… SHORTAGES OF WATER IN
RESERVOIRS… STREAMS… AND WELLS OCCUR CREATING WATER EMERGENCIES.

SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) – HAS SPREAD SLOWLY NORTHEAST ACROSS EXTREME
SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS.

COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE DROUGHT REGION…

IN SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS:
HARPER…SUMNER…COWLEY…KINGMAN…SEDGWICK…BUTLER…RENO AND
HARVEY.

IN CENTRAL KANSAS…BARTON…RICE…MCPHERSON…MARION AND CHASE.

MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) – HAD SPREAD NORTH AND NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REST
OF CENTRAL KANSAS…AS WELL AS ALL OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE MODERATE DROUGHT REGION…

IN CENTRAL KANSAS:
RUSSELL…LINCOLN…AND ELLSWORTH.

IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS:
GREENWOOD…WOODSON…ALLEN…ELK…WILSON…NEOSHO…CHAUTAUQUA…
MONTGOMERY AND LABETTE.

.STATE AND LOCAL ACTIONS…

IN A SEVERE DROUGHT…THE POTENTIAL FOR A PROLONGED VERY HIGH FIRE
DANGER INCREASES. WATER RESTRICTIONS MAY BE REQUIRED WITH WATER
SHORTAGES COMMON.

IN A MODERATE DROUGHT…THE POTENTIAL FOR PROLONGED HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE
DANGER INCREASES…AS WILL THE CHANCES FOR WATER SHORTAGES.

.CLIMATE SUMMARY…

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS PRECIPITATION DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL FOR
AREAS REPRESENTING CENTRAL…SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS SINCE
MAY 2010. (*) DENOTES DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL FOR THE MONTH IN 2011. (#)
DENOTES DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL FOR MAY AS OF THE 14TH.

SALINA WICHITA CHANUTE
MONTH DEPARTURE DEPARTURE DEPARTURE
JAN -0.34* -0.50* -1.04*
FEB -0.39* +0.37* +1.13*
MAR -1.27* -1.74* -1.07*
APR -2.13* -1.11* -1.29*
MAY -1.97*# -1.49*# +0.04*#
JUN +0.01 +1.08 +2.63
JUL +0.07 -0.54 +6.05
AUG -1.57 +1.32 -3.03
SEP +1.34 +0.15 +4.53
OCT -2.32 -1.95 -1.31
NOV +1.59 -0.58 -1.22
DEC -0.88 -1.23 -0.81

.SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS…

SOIL MOISTURE CALCULATIONS INDICATE THAT ALL AREAS ARE BELOW NORMAL…
ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS WHERE SOIL MOISTURE IS 80 TO 120
MILLIMETERS BELOW NORMAL! THE LOWEST DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL ARE IN
SOUTHEAST KANSAS WHERE SOIL MOISTURE IS 20 TO 40 MILLIMETERS BELOW
NORMAL.

.RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS…

THROUGH EARLY MAY…ALL RIVERS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS…AS WELL AS
MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS…EXPERIENCED BELOW NORMAL
STREAMFLOW. ONLY IN EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS DID RIVERS EXPERIENCE
NEAR NORMAL STREAMFLOW.

.PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK…

THE 3-MONTH PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR MAY…JUNE AND JULY CALLS FOR
A 33 TO 40 PERCENT CHANCE FOR ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL FOR AREAS
GENERALLY ALONG…AND EAST…OF I-135 WITH EQUAL CHANCES WEST OF
I-135.

THE 3-MONTH TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FROM MAY TO JULY SHOWS NO CLEAR
SIGNAL WITH EQUAL PROBABILITIES FOR ABOVE…NEAR…AND BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES DURING THE 3-MONTH PERIOD.

.FIRE WEATHER OUTLOOK…

THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR VERY HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER SHOULD
OCCUR OVER THE WESTERN HALVES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS
WHERE SOIL MOISTURE IS DRIEST AND WHERE NO CLEAR SIGNAL FOR ABOVE
NORMAL…NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL IS ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE
END OF JULY. GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS SHOULD SLOWLY
DIMINISH WHERE A SIGNAL FOR ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL IS BECOMING
APPARENT.