Dry weather across Mississippi will not have an immediate effect on agriculture, but with soil moisture at an all-time low, fire is still a risk throughout the state.
State climatologist Charles Wax, who also serves as a professor of geosciences at MSU, said Oktibbeha County hasn’t received any rain since Sept. 29, citing the month of October as completely dry.
“This is the third October the state’s had without rain since 1895,” Wax said. “Normal rainfall for that month is three inches.”
Wax said the Coast usually gets wetter than the rest of the state, averaging around 65 inches a year. In the northern half of the state, annual rainfall averages 50 inches.
“The collective rainfall from the last three hurricanes gave us around two and a half inches for September,” he said. “Contrast that with eight inches from Katrina alone.”
According to a report Wax received Thursday, the soil moisture rating for the entire state is at 82 percent, or very dry. He says that although the weather seems extreme, it’s typical of dry weather in the fall.
“In a way, the dry weather is good because of the hurricane cleanup efforts on the Coast,” Wax said.
“Timber-wise, though, Hurricane Katrina blew down millions, if not billions of trees down, and those trees are a huge fire risk,” he said.
Statewide burn bans have been in place for the last two weeks to help deter a potential wildfire outbreak. The bans apply to everything, including autumn leaves and broken limbs.
An abundance of high pressure caused by upper level air flow across the state caused the drought, Wax said.
“Agriculturally, the dry weather has been outstanding for harvesting crops, but not so good for cattle raising and grass crops,” he said.
A representative from Shook’s Farm, located just outside campus, said almost all his crops were unaffected.
“The only thing was the amount of hay we were able to bale. Instead of yielding two- and three-passes, we got one pass,” the representative said.
Professor of horticulture Frank Matta said he hasn’t heard about any losses yet.
“Most of the crops have already been harvested, so as far as agriculture is concerned, it won’t have an effect,” Matta said. “The cotton, corn, soybeans and sweet potato crops are all harvested, so I don’t see how the dry spell will hurt that.”
Matta said that foraging and cattle grazing will be affected because the grass is simply too dry to grow. Pecan trees and fruit trees will be damaged if the dry spell continues throughout the winter, he said.
“Those areas will be affected, but you won’t see it immediately,” Matta said.
Professor Wax has another way of summing up the situation.
“It’s perfect for high school football games, and right now is a good time to plan outdoor activities,” he said. “Here lately, it’s been like feast or famine; it’s either too hot or too dry, and that’s usually characteristic of Mississippi weather.”