September Southern Plains Drought Webinar: Flash Drought Update and El Niño Outlook

Rainfall across the Southern Plains has been inconsistent this summer. Some areas, like the Texas Hill Country, have experienced floods while other areas, like the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, have been relatively dry and seen long stretches of days in excess of 100ºF. Although drought conditions initially improved across the Southern Plains, extreme heat and dry conditions caused flash drought (rapid onset or intensification) to return quickly. This webinar provided an overview of current and forecasted drought conditions for Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Additionally, an El Niño pattern is in full swing. Typically, El Niño brings cool, wet winters to Texas, but there are a lot of factors that may complicate that. Andy Hoell, from NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory, talked about what to expect from a typical El Niño in the Southern Plains, and what factors might make this year different from what’s expected. Current Drought Conditions Joel Lisonbee | Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences/NOAA/NIDIS El Niño and Southern Plains Weather Andy Hoell | NOAA/Physical Sciences Laboratory