Showers nourish hope in Panhandle
Weather: Area's drought drawing comparisons to Dust Bowl
Rain greens up grass in some parts, but it may not break drought.
Showers nourish hope in Panhandle

By John David Sutter

Published: July 9, 2008

After she heard the claps of thunder, Ann Boyd went out to her front porch Monday night to soak up a rare scene: rain on her drought-riddled corner of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Two inches fell on Boyd's ranch, which is west of Boise City in Cimarron County. About 1¾ inches fell during the day, and then another quarter-inch kept her in a deep sleep overnight, Boyd said.

"For us, it's great news right here,” she said. "We're green. It's starting to green up.”

Scarcely any rain has fallen on the area in more than a year, leading climatologists and locals to compare the situation to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Boyd and her husband have sold off three rounds of cattle because there's no grass left for them to eat.

They'd planned to sell more this week, Boyd said, but the rain is giving the couple hope they'll be able to hold on until market in the fall.

For now, they're gambling by keeping them.

"It's good that we've got this, but whether it's going to last or not, it's a good question. If we don't get any more rain, we're going to be right back where we started,” she said.

Assistant state Climatologist Gary McManus agrees.

"The place will turn a little bit green where it did rain. It won't alleviate the drought conditions by any means,” McManus said, "but it's a start.”

The drought is getting attention in state government recently. State Agriculture Secretary Terry Peach toured the drought area at the tip of the Panhandle last week, and Gov. Brad Henry indicated Monday he will do the same, although he has yet to set a date for the tour.

Both officials are calling for federal aid for farmers and ranchers, some of whom have been liquidating assets and harvesting dust.

C.F. David, publisher, editor and owner of The Boise City News, has been prodding the governor to visit the area for two years, publishing pictures of the governor and printing an offer for a "bounty” of $50 to anyone who can prove that Henry has visited Cimarron County.

David said he maintains doubts about the governor's proposed visit.

"I'll believe it when I see it,” David said. "But he's welcome here.”

He added: "Hell, if he walks in and proves that he's been here, I'll write him a check.”

McManus said summer is relative "monsoon” season on the arid High Plains of the Panhandle. There are spotty chances of rain for the rest of the week, he said, but sustained, gentle rains are needed over a long period to moisten the bone-dry soil and re-grow dying plants.

Boyd said Monday's rain lifted her spirits. But she knows she was lucky.

While she was on her porch enjoying the calm rain, she called her daughter in Boise City, 20 miles away, to check in.

No rain was falling there.

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