Shreveport Needs Rain Bad, But Can It Wait Until After Revel?

Louisiana needs a good dose of rain. Much of the state is dealing with seriously dry conditions. State Climatologist Barry Keim tells the Louisiana Radio Network the state is dangerously dry.

In northwest Louisiana, it's been 23 days straight without a drop of rain. But other parts of the state are in even worse shape. It's been 26 days without any rain for New Orleans and 24 days in Baton Rouge.

What Kinds of Problems Do Dry Conditions Cause?

Keim says "we just don't have enough rain out there on the ground and it's starting to cause some very serious problems across the state of Louisiana."

We are now moving into October which is typically very dry across the state. We will also see hot summer temperatures ease up a bit. Keim says if we don’t get significant rainfall soon, we might see trouble for our yards.

"The lawns get stressed and it weakens their resilience and they are more susceptible to getting devoured by certain insects."

But Keim says the lawns are not the biggest concern. He says farmers are fighting to save their crops. He says it doesn't look like they will see any big relief any time soon.

"We are in dire straits. I can tell you farmers are not happy at all."

How Long Has It Been Since We Got Significant Rain?

The last time we got any rain in Shreveport was on September 10 when we got .70 of an inch of rain. That's only a drop in the bucket. The last time we got more than an inch of rain was on September 2 when we got 1.07 in Shreveport according to the National Weather Service.