Drought

Drought in 2021 resulted in many North Dakota livestock producers buying hay and others feeds from outside the region as it was not able to be grown locally. While many ranchers made their purchases early, harsh weather has led to further purchases. Jamestown Sun (N.D.), Feb 20, 2022

Drought in Oklahoma has limited growth of wheat for forage. The warm December, for instance, would have promoted growth, but the soil moisture was absent. Chickasha Daily Express (Okla.), Feb 20, 2022

Extreme drought conditions in East Texas have resulted in many burns escaping control. The Rusk County Fire Department responded to 26 burning fires in one weekend, but typically when there are no drought conditions that number is zero. KETK (Tyler, Texas), Feb 10, 2022

“People were really coming together and out on their lawns and out in front of their homes and chatting and making sure everybody was okay. It’s definitely good to see that kind of aloha alive and well here in Kona,” Rogers said. KHON-TV FOX 2 (Honolulu, Hawaii), Feb 16, 2022

The Airport Fire near Bishop is the largest of the three wildfires that have sparked in California since the start of the year. The blaze began early on the afternoon of Feb. 16, had grown to 3,900 acres and was 0% contained on the morning of Feb. 17. In Bishop, California State Route 168 was still closed east of U.S. 395 as of late Thursday morning, as was Warm Springs Road east of U.S. 395. Freight Waves (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Feb 17, 2022

Pennington Creek is low, prompting Tishomingo’s city manager to request stage one water conservation. City officials have been monitoring the creek for about a month, given the extreme drought. KXII-TV CBS 12 Sherman (Texas), Feb 17, 2022

The driest January on record leaves Santa Clara in a drought emergency. The Santa Clara Valley Water District anticipates needing to buy costly emergency water so the city has enough for the year. More conservation is needed. The Silicon Valley Voice (Santa Clara, Calif.), Feb 17, 2022

California’s State Water Board officials revealed the new “Water Watch” website, which offers drought monitoring, temperatures, snowpack, reservoir levels and streamflow information all in one location. Water Watch can be found at cww.water.ca.gov KSEE-TV NBC 24 Fresno (Fresno, Calif.), Feb 17, 2022

Most Marin County residents will be allowed to use their sprinklers again after a nearly three-month ban. The Marin Municipal Water District board voted unanimously on Feb. 15 to allow the district’s customers in central and southern Marin to use outdoor sprinklers and drip irrigation two days per week. Outdoor irrigation using tap water had been banned since Dec. 1 due to drought. Marin Independent Journal (Calif.), Feb 16, 2022 After a number of atmospheric rivers that brought tremendous rain to Marin County, the reservoirs have refilled from 32% to 74% of capacity on Dec. 17 and water officials were reconsidering some drought restrictions and penalties that were introduced earlier. Since July, the Marin Municipal Water District has received about 34 inches of rain, or about 240% of normal to date. The utility continues to plan for water projects like the $100 million pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge that would pump in water purchased from Yuba County. The district began planning the pipeline when it appeared that its local reservoir supplies could be depleted as soon as July 2022. The San Jose Mercury News (Calif.), Dec 19, 2021 Outdoor watering was no longer permitted in Marin if water use exceeds 65 gallons of water daily for a 4-person household. The aim is to conserve 40% district wide. Overall reservoir storage for the Marin Municipal Water District was at 58% of capacity, or 8% less than average for the date. CBS San Francisco (Calif.), Nov 30, 2021

Gov. Laura Kelly issued a declaration of a State of Disaster Emergency on Feb. 15 due to the elevated fire danger and red flag warnings across much of Kansas. The declaration authorized the use of state resources and personnel to assist with the response and recovery operations in affected counties meeting certain criteria. The public is requested to not do any open burning. KSNT-TV NBC 27 Topeka (Kan.), Feb 15, 2022

The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted emergency regulations allowing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to extend low-flow related fishing restrictions on portions of the Smith, Eel and Russian rivers and a number of other coastal rivers and streams through April 30 if needed to protect runs of salmon and steelhead. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Sacramento), Feb 4, 2022

Lengthy drought in the Sacramento Valley prompted concerns ahead of the annual bird migration because just 60,000 acres were expected to be flooded rather than the usual 270,000 acres of habitat. Disease and food depletion were expected to be problems for the birds. "The Department of Water Resources provided a large sum of money to run drought relief programs for water birds," according to a California Rice Commission wildlife programs manager. "We were able to put out 50,000 acres of flooded habitat and that includes rivers and wetlands." KCRA-TV NBC 3 Sacramento (Calif.), Feb 4, 2022

Mississippi has had nearly 400 wildfires affecting about 12,000 acres statewide since Feb. 1, according to the assistant regional forester of the Mississippi Forestry Commission. The northeastern part of the state has been a hotspot for the blazes. WTVA-TV Channel 9 (Tupelo, Miss.),Feb 15, 2022

Livestock that did not graze on green grass for four months last summer, due to drought, likely need vitamin A supplementation this winter. Cows lacking adequate vitamin A may produce poor-quality colostrum for their calves. Tri-State Livestock News (Belle Fourche, S.D.), Feb 11, 2022

A burn ban took effect for the entire State of Louisiana due to concerning dry conditions, per the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The ban will remain in effect until further notice. Nola.com (New Orleans, La.), Feb 15, 2022

The dry spell has Siskiyou County residents considering watering their lawns in February as it has been weeks since precipitation has fallen. Many reservoirs are quite low. Lake Shasta, for instance, is at 36%, or 54% of normal. Winter grains are struggling with the dry conditions. As dry as it is, surface irrigation in late summer is looking unlikely. Siskiyou Daily News (Yreka, Calif.), Feb 11, 2022

Idaho farmers are working to conserve water, but several consecutive years of drought is taking a toll. “Because we grow so much seed here in the Treasure Valley we can’t afford to have two or three years in a row of drought, and that’ll mean we’ll have to grow the seed somewhere else because the seed is so important,” said farmer and president of the Washington County Farm Bureau. East Idaho News (Idaho Falls, Idaho), Feb 11, 2022

The Bureau of Land Management rounded up wild horses in the Pancake Complex in early February as the number of mustangs and burros exceeded that which the grass and plants on the land can safely support, due to drought reducing the amount of vegetation. The Wall Street Journal (New York), Feb 13, 2022

Winter wheat in southern Nebraska needs moisture as the warm temperatures encourage the wheat to break dormancy and grow, but the soil is relatively dry, and there is no snow cover. Extreme cold is a danger to the wheat without the insulating snow to protect the crop. NTV (Axtell, Neb.), Feb 11, 2022

The Rolling Plains remained dry with very little farming activity after last week’s snow. Wildfires were still a concern. Row crop tillage was postponed due to overly dry conditions. Winter forage crops that were planted either never germinated or died after germination. Irrigated wheat looked good. Dryland winter wheat looked very poor, and cattle producers were supplemental feeding livestock heavily. Stock tank water was becoming an issue in some areas. Hay supplies were tightening. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 15, 2022 The Rolling Plains were very dry. Winter wheat was not looking good, and some stocker cattle were being fed hay. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 8, 2022 The Rolling Plains need rain as the fire danger is high, and several fires were reported. Stocker cattle on wheat were being supplemented with hay. Dryland wheat was primarily in very poor condition. Some dryland wheat fields were dried up or never emerged. Irrigated wheat was struggling in some areas. Pasture conditions were poor as well. Beef, goat and sheep producers were providing supplemental feed for animals. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 1, 2022 Conditions in the Rolling Plains were very dry and windy, causing fire concerns. Pastures and rangeland were mostly very poor. The lack of moisture and emergence made it difficult to tell what wheat fields were planted. Emerged wheat was grazed by stockers, and producers were relying on hay supplies that were tightening. Stock tanks were drying up and cattle were getting stuck in the mud attempting to access water. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Jan 25, 2022