National Weather Service Talks about Arkansas Drought

New information from the U.S. Drought monitor puts more than 70-percent of Arkansas in extreme drought. The National Weather Service in Little Rock says there is not enough rain and high temperatures are not helping.

The National Weather Service says they consider several factors when examining drought situations. “There’s a lot of different type of data input into the drought monitor, whether it be precipitation deficit or soil moisture stream flows,” said Chris Buonanno, with the National Weather Service.

Despite recent rainfall, burn bans are still in effect in almost all Arkansas counties. Wildfire danger is high. Three months ago things were fine. Experts call the shift a “flash drought.”

Buonanno said, “Where these particular conditions during the warm season, which we’re in right now and the drought conditions develop very quickly.”

Despite dry conditions, some gardens still produce. “We’ve had crop for about over a month now. We’ve been eating out of our little garden,” said Magdalena Rice, of Van Buren.

Experts expect the drought to continue until we get widespread rainfall.