Fields go from flooded to parched
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Henry Langford examines the growth in an oat field at his ranch on Farm-to-Market Road 1690. Oats normally reach eight or 10 inches high by this time in February, Langford said, but persistent dry weather since the fall has left the rancher with little grain or grasses for his cattle to eat. The National Weather Service predicts a warm, dry spring.

After floods drenched Lampasas County in the summer, County Judge Wayne Boultinghouse's office door sported a warning for citizens: "If you pray for rain, be prepared to deal with a little mud."

Now many Lampasas County residents would be glad to slog through some muck again.

While the spring and summer months of 2007 brought substantial rain, Lampasas has received just 4.17 inches since Sept. 4 -- the last time the city recorded more than an inch of rain in one day, according to National Weather Service statistics. The local area has recorded only .51 inches of rain so far in 2008, compared to 3.1 inches at the same point last year.

"It's gotten terribly dry," rancher Henry Langford said, scanning a field of oats.

Langford usually grazes his cattle on oats and wheat during the winter, but without sufficient moisture the fields have not produced proper nutritional quality for his herds.

"We can still make a grain crop of it," he said, "but it's going to have to start raining pretty soon."

Long-range projections by the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, though, indicate dry weather may continue through the spring. North and Central Texas have more than a 40 percent chance of below-normal precipitation through mid- March, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

Moderate La Nina conditions, characterized by below-average water temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean and stronger-than-normal easterly trade winds in the tropical Pacific, likely will continue into the spring, the National Weather Service has predicted. La Nina typically brings dry and warm weather to Texas, the Southwest and much of the Deep South.

The dry weather that began in the fall followed a summer of heavy rains that pushed Lampasas County well above normal yearly precipitation figures. Local weather observers measured 39.94 inches of precipitation for 2007, and rainfall topped 50 inches in some parts of the county.

In Langford's pastures east of the Lampasas River on County Road 1690, grass grew too high and became rank because of heavy summer rains, he said. As a result, the old summer grass has almost no nutritional value for cattle. And with little measurable rain in recent months, the short, new grass cattle like to consume has not developed.

The rancher has fed his livestock mostly protein supplements and hay, although hay quality also decreased last year because bales stayed wet during most of the usual cutting period.

Jamie Briggs, owner of Briggs Oak Wilt Service, said his business has suffered, as he has been waiting for rain before treating trees. The chemicals used to treat oak wilt can kill trees if applied in the middle of a dry period, he said.

"I've been delaying jobs waiting for moisture," said Briggs. "The soil needs to have adequate moisture."

Dry weather does slow the spread of oak wilt, however.

"It's bad for somebody in my business," he said. "It's good for the homeowner."

Langford received about an inch of precipitation in December and approximately 0.2 of an inch within the last few weeks.

"That's not going to do much," he added.

Drought statistics vary, although some graphics on the NWS Web site, srh.noaa.gov/fwd/drought- .html, suggest Lampasas County is beginning, or soon will enter, a drought stage with a high fire risk. Although the Palmer Drought Severity Index -- which measures meteorological drought by comparing rainfall to normal precipitation amounts -- on Feb. 6 classified Lampasas County as "moderately wet," the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the county in a "moderate drought," the second of five levels of drought severity.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index, designed to gauge relative fire risk, showed most of Lampasas County in the middle of its fire scale, with southern portions of the county in the 600-700 range on an 800-point scale.

Lampasas Fire Department Chief Terry Lindsey said the combination of dead vegetation, low humidity and high winds has fed numerous grass fires in recent weeks.

"That will start a fire pretty quick and keep it going," Lindsey said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety reports wind directions and speeds can switch suddenly during the frontal air passages common in winter and spring months. With 30-mile-per-hour winds, fires can spread at 450 feet per minute -- five miles per hour -- and produce average flame lengths of 18 feet.

County Fire Marshal Gene Harrison said fires have been worst in the east and west ends of the county. A downed power line, embers or a discarded cigarette can spark a grass fire, he said. A large fire at the Smith Ranch near Bend began when embers from a controlled burn blew onto dry grass and ignited the dead vegetation, Harrison said.

"When it rains, the only thing that will do is to put moisture back in the ground," the county fire marshal said.

Ground moisture evaporates quickly with high winds, Harrison added, but the chance of grass fires may decrease if winds subside, the county receives steady, soaking rain and temperatures do not drop below freezing -- which could kill vegetation.

Although dry conditions likely will persist for the next few months, water levels remain relatively stable in most area lakes. Stillhouse Hollow Lake, where Lampasas receives its municipal water, continues at full capacity or 622 feet above sea level, and Belton Lake, at 594 feet, also remains at its normal level. Lake Buchanan, 1,020 feet at full capacity, is now 96 percent full at 1,018.5 feet.