Drought doesn’t always take months or years to develop.
Sometimes, a combination of extreme heat and a lack of rainfall can cause conditions to deteriorate rapidly. That’s known as a flash drought, and it’s becoming a growing concern across parts of Oklahoma.
Flash drought is essentially a rapid-onset drought event—similar to how a flash flood describes the quick development of flooding conditions.
How does a flash drought develop?
The two biggest ingredients are a combination of excessive heat and a lack of rain…