KUAR | By George Jared / Talk Business & Politics
Drought conditions have worsened throughout the Arkansas Delta and there will be impacts to farmers as the harvest season unfolds. The lack of rain has been so severe that the Mississippi River is at its lowest level in a decade and it is the eighth lowest level ever recorded for the river, National Weather Service Meteorologist Samantha Brown told Talk Business & Politics.
There hasn’t been any precipitation in the region in almost two weeks and that won’t change in the short-term forecast, and there’s nothing in the long-term modeling that indicates any change at this point, Brown said.
“Drought conditions are worsening. There’s no chance of rain that I can see for the next seven days and even further,” she said.
The entire Delta is under abnormally dry, moderate or severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. A low-pressure trough has stalled over the mid-South region, and there is no indication it will move anytime soon, Brown said.
