Drought in Oklahoma, July 6 to 31, 1998

A devastating drought and heat wave affected southeastern Oklahoma farmers during the month of July. At McAlester, the only rainfall during July was 0.19" on the first two days of the month. The southeast Oklahoma climate division (which includes Choctaw, Pushmataha, Latimer and Le Flore Counties) received 50 percent of normal rainfall from May 1 through July 31. By the end of July, southeast Oklahoma was classified by the Palmer Drought Index as being in the midst of a "severe drought", while east central Oklahoma was experiencing "moderate drought". From a historical perspective, the period from June 1-July 31 was the third driest on record in southeast Oklahoma, while the period from April 1-July 31 was the fourth driest on record in east central Oklahoma. When combined with 100+ degree temperatures on 24 out of 31 days during the month (at McAlester) and relative humidities under 25 percent on many afternoons, crops stood little chance of survival. The Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary estimated crop damage throughout Oklahoma at $2 billion, of which $500 million might have taken place in southeast and east central Oklahoma. The President declared the counties listed here as a drought disaster area, nine of sixty-six counties throughout southern and central Oklahoma receiving this designation.For more information on the heat wave, please refer to the Excessive Heat entry in eastern Oklahoma's July Storm Data.