Special Weather Statement Concerning Drought

[PTrackerLA]

We are now experiencing the 2nd driest spring on record in Lafayette, LA. From the sounds of this statement, if we don't enter into a wet period the drought will quickly turn severe.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1205 PM CDT WED MAY 25 2005

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-260100-
ACADIA-ALLEN-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-CALCASIEU-CAMERON-EVANGELINE-
HARDIN-IBERIA-JASPER-JEFFERSON-JEFFERSON DAVIS-LAFAYETTE-
LOWER ST. MARTIN-NEWTON-ORANGE-RAPIDES-ST. LANDRY-ST. MARY-TYLER-
UPPER ST. MARTIN-VERMILION-VERNON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WOODVILLE...PORT ARTHUR...ORANGE...
NEWTON...KOUNTZE...JASPER...BEAUMONT...OBERLIN...ABBEVILLE...
VILLE PLATTE...OPELOUSAS...NEW IBERIA...MORGAN CITY...MARKSVILLE...
LEESVILLE...LAKE CHARLES...LAFAYETTE...JENNINGS...CROWLEY...
CAMERON AND ALEXANDRIA

...DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAINTAINING HOLD ACROSS THE REGION...

SUMMARY...
THE LATEST DROUGHT INDICES CONTINUE TO INDICATE MODERATE DROUGHT
CONDITIONS OCCURRING ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA...WITH SOUTHEAST TEXAS
AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA EXPERIENCING A MILD DROUGHT. THIS DROUGHT
PRIMARILY AFFECTS AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS, ALONG WITH AN INCREASED
WILDFIRE POTENTIAL.

NO RAINFALL HAS OCCURRED IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS
ACROSS SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. RAINFALL
TOTALS FOR THE YEAR ARE AROUND 40 TO 60 PERCENT OF NORMAL. SINCE
JANUARY...RAINFALL DEFICITS ARE RUNNING FROM 5 TO OVER 10 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL. MUCH OF OUR RAINFALL FOR THIS YEAR FELL DURING JANUARY
AND FEBRUARY. THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS THE OBSERVED AND NORMAL
RAINFALL AMOUNTS...DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL AND PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL
SINCE MARCH 1...ALONG WITH THE OVERALL RANK AMONG THE DRIEST SPRING
SEASONS FOR EACH LOCATION.

STATION OBSERVED NORMAL DEPARTURE PERCENT RANK
RAINFALL RAINFALL FROM NORMAL OF NORMAL

LAFAYETTE LA 3.11 12.74 -9.63 24 2
NEW IBERIA LA 4.21 11.61 -7.40 36 3
BEAUMONT TX 4.58 11.07 -6.49 41 6
LAKE CHARLES LA 4.72 10.04 -5.32 47 6
ALEXANDRIA LA 7.04 14.63 -7.59 48 9

SINCE MAY 1...RAINFALL AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN LESS THAN AN INCH...RANGING
FROM 0.14 INCHES AT ALEXANDRIA TO 0.74 INCHES AT BEAUMONT.


KEETCH-BYRAM INDICES INDICATE HIGH FIRE DANGER ACROSS THE AREA WITH
LEVELS OF 400 TO 600. THE TEXAS FORESTRY SERVICE AND LOUISIANA
FORESTRY SERVICE INDICATE A HIGH FIRE RISK FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA AS FUEL MOISTURE IS VERY
LOW. IN ADDITION... SOIL MOISTURE IS SHORT TO VERY SHORT ACROSS THE
AREA...BETWEEN ONE TO TWO INCHES BELOW NORMAL FOR MAY...CAUSING
STRESS TO CROPS. DAILY EVAPORATION RATES AROUND A QUARTER OF AN INCH
CONTINUE TO MAKE THE DRY CONDITIONS WORSE.


OUTLOOK...
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WEAKENS...ALLOWING DISTURBANCES TO
MOVE ACROSS THE REGION. DESPITE THE POTENTIAL FOR ONE TO TWO INCHES
OF RAINFALL OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...THIS WILL ONLY BRING
TEMPORARY RELIEF TO PARCHED LAWNS AND GARDENS.

THE LATEST EXTENDED RANGE OUTLOOKS INDICATE NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES
WITH BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND NEAR
NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS LOUISIANA THROUGH JUNE 7. SEASONAL
OUTLOOKS DEPICT NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR JUNE WITH BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ANTICIPATED. IF THE GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS
CONTINUE...SHORT TERM DROUGHT FORECASTS INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR
SEVERE DROUGHT DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL LOUISIANA.

[CajunMama]

PT....it's not looking good for the home team here I keep looking at the radar and there is NOTHING in the way of rainshowers popping up anywhere.

I have a coworker that lives in Leonville and they have NO water pressure. At least we still have some.

I've got areas around my yard that doesn't have any grass coverage and the dirt is all cracked. My nice centipede grass is turning brown and making my yard look burnt. Please please please let us get some rain over here.

[PTrackerLA]

I keep checking too CM...starting to get discouraged. Rob Perillo seemed confident about rain chances last night but there is NOTHING out there right now and the clouds have also decreased. Sounds like my yard looks the same as yours, you can water water water but nothing compares to a good rainfall which we desperately need.

[Wpwxguy]

I got a shower around 3:30 this morning, it was great. Nice booming thunderstorm. First measureable rainfall I've had in some three weeks. Its been bone dry. I'm not sure what I ended up with though. Thank God for the rain. Here's hoping and praying that you guys get yours real soon.

[CajunMama]

You lucky dog you!

[Wpwxguy]

A nice line of storms set up just to our north last night around Jackson, MS. They made it to the Louisiana state line into Washington Parish and quickly fizzled. However , it was good while it lasted. New Orleans was really hoping they would hold together but no such luck. Radar estimates said I got around .60-1.0. Its been so dry that my grass has stopped growing, which is a good thing. But, we really need a good 24 hour soaker. A lot of times in these drought situations we tend to get or at least it seems to me that we get a nice tropical system to make up the deficit of rainfall. So, you never know. Could be interesting for us, I've seen lots of folks tieing a dry April and May to an active tropical season for our area. Who knows, its just specualation.

Bill

[CajunMama]

The clouds have been teasing us all day. C'mon and rain already!!!!!!

[BayouVenteux]

Look up to the WNW in Texas...radar this afternoon (4 p.m. CDT) shows a nice-sized band of t-storms moving ESE at about 30 mph.

http://weather.gov/radar/loop/DS.p20-r/si.kfws.shtml

Maybe, just maybe, with a little luck it will hold up as it heads into SW Louisiana this evening.

[Wpwxguy]

Thats so funny, I just finished looking at the latest Sat. loop and saw that it was moving to the southeast........ was going to post the same thing.LOL> Maybe the system will hold together, but don't get your hopes up.

[PTrackerLA]

I've been watching that line for a while now and it's trajectory would take it right into our area but it remains to be seen whether it will hold together or not. Last night the storms lasted well into the night so hopefully that will be the same case. BTW experienced a light shower around 30 minutes ago..the cumulus clouds have definately built up around us but no real storms have formed as of yet. Still a few hours of daytime heat so there's still some chances there.

[CajunMama]

I got 10 drops of rain.....the rain was RIGHT there....why me? why me?

PT...did it rain at your house?

[PTrackerLA]

NO it didnt CM! I could literally smell the rain it was so close, practically got struck by lightning when I stepped outside to check it out this evening but nope the storm decided to form right after it passed over my house. Looks like Abbeville, Broussard, and New Iberia all got a pretty good soaking too. Well now we have to look to the weekend for rain, it's bound to rain on me sometime right?