Flash Drought Overtaking Green Country

TULSA, Okla. — Over the past month, Green Country's drought status has quickly worsened. This has to do with a combination of factors brought by a persistent heat dome parked over the central United States. This shut off widespread rainfall and induced many triple-digit temperature days in the region.

A flash drought begins with the top layer of soil and vegetation drying out. This causes the air to dry out, which in turn can reinforce the dry weather pattern. Drought begets drought, in other words. This has a marked impact on crops and even our own watering bills. As time goes on, our reservoir water levels also begin to drop. Thankfully, a very wet end to spring gave Green Country lakes the cushion room to lose that water.

Another effect of a flash drought is an increase in the wildfire danger. Dried vegetation will act as fuel for any fires that are started. The drying air also helps to spread the flames more readily. This is why many counties in Green Country are now under Burn Bans including Tulsa County from September 3rd to the 8th. Extensions to these Burn Bans are likely until widespread, soaking rainfall occurs.

The unseasonably hot and dry weather pattern will likely continue well into September based on the latest forecast guidance. This means the drought will likely worsen before Green Country has a chance to "green up" again. The light at the end of the tunnel will be a fall and winter season characterized by a strong El Niño, which tends to increase precipitation for the southern United States.

To see our latest forecast for the Tulsa area, click here.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.