“Absolutely Remarkable": Recent heavy rains have helped southern states shake off drought

Parts of the southern U.S. have finally shaken off years of drought, thanks to a steady string of storms.
One meteorologist says that Oklahoma and neighboring states have seen historic rainfall that wiped out drought conditions.

According to Matt Makens, “Absolutely, it is remarkable. We’ll see how those drought numbers pan out over the next few weeks, with some of these hot days finally building back in here. But it all kind of started in late October or early November when that real soaker came through. It got the soil moist. They stayed that way through winter, for the most part, and that was kind of a good catalyst to get this season going, and it clearly was a was a gravy train, if you will, from Amariollo all the way through here, out to the east, of just progressive storm after storm after storm with this rainfall.”

He says it is the wettest year on record across much of Oklahoma and a large swath of the Southern Plains, but as fall approaches, he warns dry conditions could return, especially if La Niña strengthens.

Related Stories
“The clean-up process is going to be a very, very long time. It’s not going to take months; it’s going to take probably years, if not longer than that.”
“The other fruits and veggie guys, they’re just kind of a wait-and-see type of position.”
“We find lots of public support when there is a natural disaster, but maybe a little bit less when people think prices are too low.”
Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins has been in the hot seat before the Senate Ag Committee all morning.