FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The National Drought Mitigation Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and NOAA have coordinated to declare a Level 1 drought across parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Conditions have remained dry for the past 2-3 months with little rain expected in the regional forecast.
LATEST DROUGHT CONDITIONS
Impacted cities by county...
-Benton County: Lowell and Rogers
-Le Flore County: Cameron, Heavener, Monroe, Poteau,
-Sebastian County: Hackett, Hartford, Midland
-Washington County: Fayetteville, Greenland, Johnson, Lincoln, Prairie Grove, Springdale, Tontitown
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Yellow: Abnormally dry, just under drought conditions
Light Brown: Level 1 Drought (out of 4)
We've noticed that some of the drought in the west continues to expand east across the southern Plains, including Arkansas and Oklahoma.
HOW MUCH RAIN DO WE NEED?
Everyone in Arkansas and Oklahoma could use at least a little rain. Exact rainfall amounts needed by community will greatly vary.
Generally, yellow areas need 2-4+ inches of rainfall to normalize the dry conditions. Light brown areas need 4-6+ inches of rainfall.
FIRE DANGER
5NEWS viewer Mara O'Mahony recorded a video of multiple grass fires along I-40 westbound in Crawford County near Van Buren. Emergency crews worked to battle the quickly spreading fire. Crawford County confirmed that this was not a controlled burn, in fact a burn ban is in place. Details on the origin of this fire are still unknown, but regardless our soil, vegetation, and wildlands are dry. Fire can ignite and spread easily.
BURN BANS IN EFFECT
Counties in the River Valley (Crawford, Le Flore, and Sebastian) have issued their own burn bans.
For more information on the burn bans and the specifics per county, tap HERE.
-5NEWS Weather Team