|
“It’s
sad that our drought relief has to come from a storm that has caused such
pain for our southern neighbors."
Tom Priddy
UK College of Agriculture Meteorologist
|
By Aimee Nielson
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Sept. 1, 2005) – Hurricane Katrina tore through several Gulf
Coast states, leaving a path of destruction that may end up being the costliest
natural disaster in U.S. history. As remnants of the storm drifted northeast,
much needed rain fell over a large portion of Kentucky, however, it may have
come a little too late for some farmers.
“The bluegrass climate zone has been in severe drought for several weeks, and
west and central zones have been in moderate drought,” said Tom Priddy,
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture meteorologist. “It’s sad that our
drought relief has to come from a storm that has caused such pain for our
southern neighbors. For the most part, the recent rainfall has improved
conditions in Kentucky, and while it’s true we needed many inches of rain to
pull us out of the drought, some areas got it too quickly.”
In western areas of the state, some communities saw as much as 11 inches of rain
over several days, including some that fell before Katrina hit the area. In
Hopkinsville, high water closed several roads and businesses after 6 inches fell
in a few short hours.
“We didn’t’ get nearly as much precipitation from Katrina in the bluegrass zone
as I thought we would,” Priddy said. “But it’s still enough to make a big
difference, and it could possibly pull us out of the severe drought category,
through the moderate drought category and into mild drought, which is easier to
deal with.”
Although it came too late to help the state’s corn crop, UK Forage Specialist
Ray Smith said the recent rain could improve pasture prospects for the fall.
“This is good across the board except where there is standing water,” he said.
“Standing water can cause stand losses in sensitive forage crops like alfalfa.
But overall, it’s purely a help and will fuel good pasture growth.”
Smith said farmers might have a good hay cutting at the end of September
depending, of course, on future weather conditions.
“It came about as late as it could to help forage producers,” Smith emphasized.
“Farmers who had put nitrogen on for stockpiling fall forages should see a real
benefit.”
Priddy was cautiously optimistic about Katrina’s effect on Kentucky.
“I keep telling everyone to remember Dennis,” he said. “Dennis helped alleviate
drought conditions for a while, but three weeks later we were right back into
drought and, in some areas, deep into severe drought. We’ll just have to wait
and see.”
For more information about current weather conditions in Kentucky and
surrounding states visit the UK College of Agriculture Weather Center at
http://wwwagx.ca.uky.edu.
Writer:
Aimee Nielson
859-257-4736, ext. 267
Contact: Tom Priddy
859-257-3000, ext. 245
Ray Smith 859-257-3358
Return to Main News page. |
