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Three inches of rain that fell across northeast Louisiana in the past week helped bring up the averages and rainfall totals.But a hydrologist with the National Weather Service said the region needs wave after wave of similar systems before the drought that has gripped area for almost a year eases its grip.
Marty Pope, with the National Weather Service office in Jackson, Miss., said even the most recent rainfall still sees the area at about 50 percent of its average annual rainfall.
“You have areas that are 16-20 inches below their yearly average,” Pope said. “While systems like the most recent one certainly help, the lower table of aquifers in the region aren’t able to get any of that rainfall because it’s soaked up before it reaches those levels.”
Earlier this year, dozens of residents living east of Bastrop saw their wells run dry after farmers in the area began irrigating crops, drawing the Mississippi River Aquifer below the levels their wells reached. Pope said that is just one of the paradoxes that were part of the weather picture for the Deep South this year.
“In Louisiana and Mississippi, you had areas that were affected by the record high level of the (Mississippi) river, and just miles from those areas were places that were experiencing extreme drought,” Pope said.
The lack of rainfall increased production costs for area farmers, many of whom had to irrigate corn crops for months to ensure good yields on the crops.
Another impact of the drought was in widlife refuges in the region, Brett Hortman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps oversee the Black Bayou, D’Arbonne and Upper Ouachita refuges. He said some species of oak trees are showing signs of stress that could be attributed to the lack of rainfall.
“In Black Bayou, we’re seeing oaks that are showing signs of distress. As best we can determine, it’s from the lack of rainfall and lack of moisture in the ground that they draw from,” Hortman said. “In the D’Arbonne refuge, we’re also seeing oaks that are distressed, but it’s hard to determine if its from the lack of rainfall or from changes the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) created when they made improvements to the navigation channel on the Ouachita River several years ago.”
In the short term, Pope said models show the region may see a system in mid December similar to the one that moved through the region this weekend. He adds that more just like are needed to help the region.
“You need systems like that, which bring slow soaking rains rather than a storm that dumps 10 inches quickly that just runs off,” Pope said. “Those slow moving systems will help those lower zone soils become wet again.”
Three inches of rain that fell across northeast Louisiana in the past week helped bring up the averages and rainfall totals.But a hydrologist with the National Weather Service said the region needs wave after wave of similar systems before the drought that has gripped area for almost a year eases its grip.
Marty Pope, with the National Weather Service office in Jackson, Miss., said even the most recent rainfall still sees the area at about 50 percent of its average annual rainfall.
“You have areas that are 16-20 inches below their yearly average,” Pope said. “While systems like the most recent one certainly help, the lower table of aquifers in the region aren’t able to get any of that rainfall because it’s soaked up before it reaches those levels.”
Earlier this year, dozens of residents living east of Bastrop saw their wells run dry after farmers in the area began irrigating crops, drawing the Mississippi River Aquifer below the levels their wells reached. Pope said that is just one of the paradoxes that were part of the weather picture for the Deep South this year.
“In Louisiana and Mississippi, you had areas that were affected by the record high level of the (Mississippi) river, and just miles from those areas were places that were experiencing extreme drought,” Pope said.
The lack of rainfall increased production costs for area farmers, many of whom had to irrigate corn crops for months to ensure good yields on the crops.
Another impact of the drought was in widlife refuges in the region, Brett Hortman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps oversee the Black Bayou, D’Arbonne and Upper Ouachita refuges. He said some species of oak trees are showing signs of stress that could be attributed to the lack of rainfall.
“In Black Bayou, we’re seeing oaks that are showing signs of distress. As best we can determine, it’s from the lack of rainfall and lack of moisture in the ground that they draw from,” Hortman said. “In the D’Arbonne refuge, we’re also seeing oaks that are distressed, but it’s hard to determine if its from the lack of rainfall or from changes the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) created when they made improvements to the navigation channel on the Ouachita River several years ago.”
In the short term, Pope said models show the region may see a system in mid December similar to the one that moved through the region this weekend. He adds that more just like are needed to help the region.
“You need systems like that, which bring slow soaking rains rather than a storm that dumps 10 inches quickly that just runs off,” Pope said. “Those slow moving systems will help those lower zone soils become wet again.”
