2011 - The year of heat and drought. McCurtain County Oklahoma Idabel Broken Bow Valliant
The average annual precipitation for McCurtain County Oklahoma is about 48 inches in the SW corner of McCurtain County and about 54 inches in the NE corner of McCurtain County Oklahoma.
This year in McCurtain County Oklahoma Valliant Idabel Broken Bow, 2011, we are in extreme drought. The numbers are misleading when we look at the precipitation amounts for this year. To date, Idabel has received about 22 inches of rainfall this year. Most of it came in early Spring though and this summer has not seen more than a sprinkle.
Last year was less than average also but adequate at 39.89 inches. This year is not adequate. The grass is brown and very short in pastures if it has had cattle on it at all. Many ranchers in Idabel, Broken Bow, or Valliant Oklahoma, have sold part of their herds if not all of them.
Each day McCurtain County folks hope for rain. The forecast for this week has 20% and 30% chances of rain on some of the days.. we are watching and listening for those drops. It is important.
In the meantime, it is a good time to prepare for the rains that will come at some point. Don has had some of our ponds cleaned out this summer. They were full of mud and not much water. It has been a good year for that. Its also a year that will bring to light the type of management that has been on a property. Grass with good roots systems are faring better than pastures where the weeds were allowed to thrive.
Combine the lack of rain with the triple digit temperatures that ruled us this summer (even yesterday it was 102 here) and we realize that this year has been a real stress test year.
McCurtain County Oklahoma (Idabel, Broken Bow, Valliant Oklahoma) ... I call it God's green country, and it usually is. This year, though it's not very green.. it has more of the browns and tans evident everywhere from the tree tops that have gone dormant (we hope only dormant and not dead), to the gardens that people gave up on... to lawns and pastures that hopefully will green up when it rains.
The weather man is telling me right now that there is a glimmer of hope this week, so cross your fingers for us ... rain please come our way.
This blog post was originally posted at Integrity Real Estate Services Blog.
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Joni, I guess large portions of Oklahoma and Texas are in the same boat.. well not quite a boat. but we would love to see some of that stuff that floats a boat.
Thanks for the report. We were thinking of driving up through McCurtain County and on up to the Mena area on a sight-seeing drive. Sounds like we would likely find the same brown trees and grass that we have here in the Frisco, Texas area.