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Wet Spring Brings Dramatic Drought Improvement

U.S. Drought Monitor

One of the wettest springs on record in Oklahoma has caused flooding in many parts of the state. State climatologist Gary McManus said there’s an upside, however.

"The common saying is, 'Sometimes it takes a flood to end a drought,' and we're definitely getting the flooding, but we're also ending the drought," McManus said.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 51 percent of Oklahoma is under drought conditions right now. Three months ago, 99 percent of the state was.

After 11 inches of rain across the state in the last month, McManus said it’s hard to convince people there’s a drought when their homes are flooded.

"But there are still some of those long-term impacts that are holding on a little bit: the soil moisture, some of the stream flows and things of that nature," McManus said. "And we also know just from experience that the amount of deficit that we've had over the last four and a half years, which in some cases has been 30–50 inches of rainfall deficit, it's much easier for that drought to come back."

With a wet Memorial Day weekend ahead, the percentage of Oklahoma in drought could continue to fall.

"We're still in this wet pattern. We should still be vigilant about severe weather, flooding especially," McManus said. "But, again, one of the end results of all that terrible weather is an end to drought, hopefully."

In the last 30 days, nearly half of Oklahoma’s climate divisions and the entire state had their wettest period since 1921. All parts of the state had higher than normal rainfall totals. South Central Oklahoma had the most rain with 15 inches.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.