Pat Guinan Quotations

Right now we're working without our safety net. Fall and winter precipitation typically recharges the soil profile and increase pond, stream and river levels. Without that precipitation, it becomes imperative that spring rains come and give us the collateral we need as we enter the summer season.

Quick recovery from the drought is not likely. Even normal rainfall in May and June can't restore ground water levels.

The good news is that spring is our wet season, with the months of April, May and June providing nearly a third of annual precipitation totals. So far, the long-range outlooks are showing no indicators that spring will be dry.

This is a welcome step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go to make up the deficits.

The mother of all droughts in southwest Missouri occurred from 1952 to 1956 when precipitation in Joplin fell more than 81 inches below normal in a five-year period. Fortunately, we're no where near that right now.

Although we haven't had a lot of precipitation, what we have received has been able to move into the soil profile because there's been no frost line to contend with.

The atmosphere is pretty chaotic. That makes it much harder to predict spring and summer weather with any degree of certainty.

This was like manna from heaven for the entire state. And we need a lot more.

Overall, most locations averaged 13 to 16 degrees above normal for the month. That's just amazing.

The consequences will be dire if we don't receive decent replenishment of water supplies, above and below ground, before summer arrives.