Over all drought.

[greybeard]

Had 1 big rain here in Central Tx mid September of nearly 4" but really nothing since...........until this morning, and it's not much so far. I don't get to get out enough to see anyone's tanks'/ponds but I do know it's still awful dry...and hot Friday and Saturday set record here for high temp on those dates. mid 90s.
Both Cove and Killeen (and Temple) are still under water restrictions due to low levels in Lake Stillwell and Lake Belton if that's any indicator. I haven't been here long enough to know what 'normal' is.

 

[backhoeboogie]

We're still under a burn ban. An inch and a half 3 weeks back. Most of it evaporated in the 90 degree days following. A half inch yesterday.

Not much hope. Maybe sew some clover later if it starts raining.

 

[farmerjan]

This area is between 10-14 inches short on measurable moisture this year. It was fairly dry last year but not this much. South and east of my area in Va., has had more than us, but still a little below "normal"....
The drought monitor has us in the middle of the drought chart, level 3... our area is between extremely dry and severe drought. I went by a shallow pond in a pasture and it was dry today... cannot remember it ever being dry.... creeks and streams are very low.
My well does not seem to have the water recovery that it did and pressure seems less... I am being careful.

Nothing in the forecast for the next 10 days.

 

[Logan52]

I remember when the old timers relied on the "signs" as much as the weatherman to predict rain. One of their favorite sayings was,
"All signs fail in dry weather".
That has sure been the case here this year. A rather new sign is "jet trails in the sky means rain in less than three days". I do not know why it works but it has always seemed the most accurate of the signs to me.
Anyway last week we had a day when the hazy blue sky was as full of jet trails as I ever saw it. We got rain right on time but like all year, it barely amounted to anything and the drought continues.

 

[greybeard]

It's still raining here on and off, as it has been since yesterday morning. I have no idea how much (probably less than 1 1/2 total) but it's been spread out slow and gentle. Anyone that got oats or other cool weather seed in the ground last week or so here will probably do good.

 

[farmerjan]

It's still raining here on and off, as it has been since yesterday morning. I have no idea how much (probably less than 1 1/2 total) but it's been spread out slow and gentle. Anyone that got oats or other cool weather seed in the ground last week or so here will probably do good.

Hope you all keep getting more like that.

 

[greybeard]

Rained a little overnight, then some again early this morning, cleared off late this afternoon but there is a big line of Tstorms running South to North just West of me. Looks like everybody from Del Rio up to Wichita Kansas is going to get a piece of it.


We are under flood watch till 7am Friday, only because the ground is already saturated..

 

[tex452]

We had a wet spring with lower than normal temperatures, we were late getting the meadows cleaned off "ryegrass " because it was too wet, it started falling over and the grass wouldn't grow good because it was too cool, it hit 109* in June and stayed there all summer with no rain,

 

[farmerjan]

New drought monitor out this morning... expanding areas pretty much everywhere.

 

[coachg]

We're in the northeast corner in Jackson County . Latest one today

 

[greybeard]

I'm well ensconced in SW Coryell County's D-4 (exceptional drought) tho it hasn't seemed that way the last 3 days.

 

[wbvs58]

Funny how when things are good a 40% chance of 1-5mm will just about be guaranteed of turning into 20-40mm actual rain yet when things are like our season now the forecast of 90% chance of 10-20mm for yesterday has turned into just 1.5mm. Any idiot can be a forecaster and get it right when things are good but they are not too flash in bad seasons.

Ken

 

[Brute 23]

Ya we got more rain beginning of the week with low percentage chances. We didn't get anything today or yesterday out of that line.

 

[1982vett]

Same here, got 4/10ths over a 3 day nothing chance and 2/10ths yesterday with flood warnings the night before. Guess 6/10ths for the week is fairly good but ya really didn't do anything to shrink the cracks in the ground.

 

[Brute 23]

We haven't gotten 1/10 out of all this rain they claimed was suppose to be here the last 2 days.

 

[Caustic Burno]

We haven't gotten 1/10 out of all this rain they claimed was suppose to be here the last 2 days.

Actually got a 1/2".

 

[504RP]

Here in NorthWest Arkansas we have had forecast after forecast about all of the rain we were going to get. It would cloud up, sky turn dark, wind pick up only to sprinkle 30 minutes to an hour. And it's has been that way 70 to
80% of the time.

In a way it's worked out kind of good for putting up hay. Rained just enough to grow grass and those that took the gamble to put nitrate out. Sometimes hit the jack pot others who gambled it would rain and put nitrate out and didn't get rain wasted their money. So when you cut it you didn't have to worry about it getting rained on.

But pasture being used to graze just couldn't keep up. It would get grazed to dirt and is going into winter dirt. A lot of people are drilling winter wheat right now. But it is going to have to be a very wet winter to fill ponds up and these pastures that have been grazed down to dirt is going to be late this Summer producing grass for grazing and unless it is a wet Spring people will have to graze their hay fields or find hay to feed if they want to try and hold on.

 

[Little Joe]

We're very dry here in Central Arkansas as well, I believe drier than what we were last year. I was planning to sow some wheat but no point now, ground is just too hard and dry to make sowed wheat come up as well as they are calling for frost next week. I've been able to hold out with grass, I manage my pasture well and always have good grass even in drought, deep roots make a lot of difference when in a drought. I also weaned calves in September and moved my cows to another pasture for a month so my home pasture could catch up. I've moved them back home now and should have enough grass to make it to the week of thanksgiving which is always my target to start feeding hay. I'm seeing lots of pastures grazed down to dirt, they'd be money ahead to put cows in smaller area and feed hay, a cow will walk off what weight they can gain by grazing trying to find another blade of grass on some of these places.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

People here don't know what I'm talking about if I say anything about cracks in the ground. Virtually NEVER have such a thing happen here. I have seen the ground really dry (this past spring), and bare ground in the cattle lot had some cracks. I mean, a crack you might be able to squeeze a piece of straw into. Not CRACKS that you can put your fingers in. I lived in Kansas for 12 years, so I have experience with ground cracking (and lived in Texas for 5 years - but I was quite young, 4-9).

 

[4hfarms]

Light mist for the past 30 hours on and off. Second rain since mid July. We didnt have to feed hay until dec 10 last year. Started hay this year 2 weeks ago. According to last year, we ordered more hay this summer, to last until mid spring, but now looks like it may not make it.