Drought

Drought has forced Duluth homeowners to begin irrigating early in the summer if they want their grass green and growing. KBJR TV 6 (Duluth, Minn.), Aug 22, 2023

In addition to the statewide burn ban, the town of Gueydan was under an emergency declaration due to drought. The order prohibits "open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood or other combustible matter, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane" and also "the burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation, including such debris that results from building construction activities." Some residents were disregarding the state burn ban. Louisiana’s statewide burn ban took effect on Aug. 7, and a statewide state of emergency due to heat was declared on Aug. 11. KATC (Lafayette, La.), Aug 25, 2023

A large shipwreck was discovered in the Neches River on the Texas/Louisiana border. The vessel was one of more than a dozen that were abandoned after World War I, according to the Texas Historical Commission. An acoustic remote sensing survey of a 5-mile section of the river revealed more than two dozen shipwrecks, which included Emergency Fleet Corporation ships and other vessels. There are almost 40 wooden-hulled EFC vessels in east Texas rivers, making this one of the largest collections of WWI vessel abandonment sites in the U.S. Beaumont Enterprise (Texas), Aug 24, 2023

Apples at an orchard in Quicksburg were about half as big as they ought to be and ripened prematurely. Without some rain soon to increase the size of the apples, the orchard owner may have to buy apples from other local orchards if there are any apples for sale. WHSV Online (Harrisonburg, Va.), Aug 24, 2023

Pasture near Deville was dry dirt when it would normally offer green, ankle to shin high grass for livestock at this time of year. A cattle operation had gotten 60% less hay than usual after getting just one cut of hay. The sale barn in Mansura has sold twice the usual number of cattle since the start of the year. The cattle weigh less than they should. KALB-TV (Alexandria, La.), Aug 23, 2023

Residents of Allen were urged to voluntarily conserve water. The Southwest Allen Parish Water District was seeking emergency conservation for the entire system as the water supply was low from increased water demand for firefighting as more blazes were sparking amid the hot, dry conditions. The water supply was low and not keeping pace with firefighters’ demand. There has been an uptick in wildfires in the Oakdale area. American Press (Lake Charles, La.), Aug 22, 2023

Soybeans and canola in Rolette County were showing drought stress early in the day. The crops need moisture urgently. INFORUM (Fargo, N.D.), Aug. 3, 2023

A couple of marsh fires in Cameron Parish began on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 19, and burned 3,500 acres before the fires were extinguished on Aug. 21. Given the dry conditions, the public must be very careful with anything that could spark a fire. American Press (Lake Charles, La.), Aug 22, 2023

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced that the drought watch had been lifted for 47 counties, but remained in effect for 20 counties mainly in the southeast part of the state. The 20 counties were Adams, Berks, Bucks, Cameron, Chester, Clarion, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Venango and York. Those in a drought watch are asked to curb their water use by 5% to 10%. KDKA Online (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Aug 24, 2023

Residents of Canton were asked to limit their water use to essential uses only starting Aug. 23 as drought and extreme heat continued. Over the weekend, residents of Madison were asked to curb their nightly lawn watering. WLBT Online (Jackson, Miss.), Aug 23, 2023

A 90-day burn ban was in effect for unincorporated parts of Harris County. Houston Chronicle Online (Texas), Aug 23, 2023

An electrocuted bird fell from a powerline in McKinney and sparked a grassfire, which responsible citizens quickly extinguished. KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (Texas), Aug 23, 2023

Public Wholesale Water District 26 enacted a water warning on Aug. 18. Cities affected by the move were Cottonwood Falls, Strong City and Chase County Rural Water District 1. Water use in Strong City will ideally be curbed by 10% overall and by 20% from recent peak use levels. KVOE (Emporia, Kan.), Aug 23, 2023

Kerrville has accepted the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District’s directive to enact tougher restrictions on water use, following two weeks of discussion. Kerrville officials agreed to move to Stage 4 water restrictions as the district did on Aug. 9, due to low aquifer levels and the slow flow of the Guadalupe River. Kerrville was previously in Stage 2. San Antonio Express-News (Texas), Aug 23, 2023

Brownwood was in Stage 2 water restrictions as Lake Brownwood was 8 feet below the spillway on Aug. 23. The lake was at 65.8% capacity, compared to 66.6% one week ago. People were urged to pray for rain. Brownwood News (Texas), Aug 23, 2023

Firefighters battled blazes in at least four spots around Spokane County and neighboring counties on Friday, Aug. 18. Strong winds drove the fires, which caused the deaths of two people, one southwest of Spokane and the other north of the city. Heat, dry vegetation, drought and wind combined made the fires difficult to extinguish. Rainfall has been half of normal since May at the Spokane International Airport. KUOW 94.9 FM (Seattle, Wash.), Aug 23, 2023

Customers of the Pottawatomie County Rural Water District #4 were asked to voluntarily conserve water as high heat intensified drought. The district declared a Water Watch through Sept. 5. WIBW-TV 13 (Topeka, Kan.), Aug 22, 2023

High water demand among customers of the Bayou Cannes Water System in Basile led to low water pressure in the evenings. Consequently, customers were asked to conserve water. KATC (Lafayette, La.), Aug 23, 2023

Drought was thought to be driving more cockroaches into New Orleans homes as pest control services received more calls for service. Rainfall in New Orleans is more than 22 inches below normal for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service. Axios (Arlington, Va.), Aug 23, 2023

Gov. Laura Kelly approved updated drought declarations for counties with Executive Order #23-04. The declaration has 55 counties in emergency status, 18 in warning status and 32 in watch status, reflecting an easing of condition in western Kansas while drought worsened in the east. The counties in a drought emergency were Allen, Anderson, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Greenwood, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Reno, Republic, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sedgwick, Smith, Stafford, Sumner, Trego, Wilson and Woodson. The counties in a drought warning were Cherokee, Clay, Decatur, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Kingman, Labette, Linn, Miami, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Sheridan, Wabaunsee and Washington. The counties in a drought watch were Atchison, Barber, Brown, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Doniphan, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Haskell, Jackson, Jefferson, Kearny, Leavenworth, Logan, Marshall, Meade, Morton, Nemaha, Rawlins, Scott, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Wallace, Wichita and Wyandotte. The previous declaration came on Oct. 6, 2022, when 67 counties were in emergency status, 11 in warning status and 27 on watch. WIBW-TV 13 (Topeka, Kan.), Aug 23, 2023