Area drier than normal, but unlikely to enter drought (6/16)

Posted June 16, 2009 at 12:40 am
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

By VANESSA C. DEGGINS
AMERICAN PRESS

The National Weather Service predicts abnormally dry conditions across southern and central Louisiana for the “foreseeable future.”

Rainfall totals for the year in the Lake Charles area are at 21.35 inches, below the 24.77 inches of normal rainfall, meteorologist Sam Shamburger said in a briefing Saturday.

This is still much better than the 2008 rainfall at this time — 15.34 inches.

An official drought has not been declared for the area and is not expected, Shamburger said.

“This is mainly due to equal chances of both aboveand below-normal rainfall expectations in the long-term climate outlook,” Shamburger said.

Drought conditions do exist in Texas and the upper Mississippi River Valley.

According to the Drought Monitor Index, abnormally dry conditions are characterized by short-term dryness, a slowing of planting and growth of crops or pastures, and above-average fire risks.

The next step would be a moderate drought, which could damage crops and pastures.

“We just want residents to continue to monitor their overall water usage,” said Russell Buckles, Lake Charles city water superintendent.

The city is pumping slightly higher volumes of water from its wells for customers’ increased use, but that is common when we have a dry spell, he said.

Buckles said some everyday tips include doing watering early in the morning or late in the day and not letting water overrun into the street and drains.

“Residents should do these things as a precautionary measure,” Buckles said. “But these are good regular practices also.”

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Comments

What's on your mind?

Use this form to comment on the article above. This box is not intended to be a forum for readers to ask questions of the newspaper staff, but to express their thoughts about the article. To contact the News department, e-mail news@americanpress.com.