Dust Bowl: Oklahoma
From Gary McManus, Oklahoma Climatological Survey:
“One important thing to remember about the Dust Bowl drought is that it was much worse in the High Plains areas of the Great Plains. For Oklahoma, the Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma had it much worse. The 1950s drought was the drought of record for the main body of the state. The High Plains saw the drought during the 1950s as well, but not to the extent of the 1930s drought. And we didn’t see the huge dust storms during the 1950s either, thanks mainly to the conservation and advanced farming practices learned during the “Dirty Thirties.”
“The drought waxed and waned across the rest of Oklahoma, but it was continual drought out west. That is very similar to what we have seen with our current two-plus year drought cycle. The Dust Bowl drought got a good head of steam starting in the summer of 1931 in the northwest and lasted through the winter of 1940-41 before abundant rains returned in the spring of 1941. From the summer of 1931 through the winter of 1940-41, the precipitation deficit reached to about 49 inches below the long-term average for the area. The area received an average of 6.1 inches during May of 1941 to signal the drought was turning. The rains lasted through that fall and October’s average of 6.1 inches was the final nail in the drought’s coffin. The statewide average rainfall total of 11.3 inches remains the wettest month on record in Oklahoma. Those records date back to 1895.”
Thank you for joining our conversation on Oklahoma Weather Blog. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment