While the drought still isn’t gone in Northwest Oklahoma, the severity of it has been downgraded in some areas.
The western portion of Garfield County has been downgraded from extreme drought, the second-worst category, to severe drought, the third-worst, according to the June 14 U.S. Drought Monitor report of Oklahoma.
In Kingfisher County, the majority of the area also is in severe drought, while a small eastern sliver is in moderate conditions.
Grant County is mostly in severe drought, while the majority of both Alfalfa and Woods counties are in moderate drought, with small portions in severe drought and extreme drought.
With this year’s wheat harvest, many areas were severely impacted by the drought.
Lower yields or complete abandonment took place in some areas on the Kingfisher-Blaine County lines due to the drought conditions, according to a recent Oklahoma Wheat Commission report.
Breckinridge’s Mesonet weather-recording station has recorded 12.08 inches of rain so far this year, and 9.06 inches has been recorded in the last two months, with 5.9 inches of that in the past month.
Woodward’s station has seen a touch more rain though, with 5.03 inches this year, 4.49 of it in the last 60 days and 2.7 inches in the past month.
The station at Kenton in Cimarron County has seen the least rain this year with just 1.93 inches so far, and .95 of that in the past month.
That station saw 47.37 inches of precipitation last year.