Last updated: August 26, 2025
Article
Climate Monitoring at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site: Water Year 2024
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Overview
Together, climate and hydrology shape ecosystems and the services they provide, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems and across the Southern Plains (Woodhouse and Overpeck 1998). Understanding changes in climate, groundwater, and surface water is key to assessing the condition of park natural resources—and often, cultural resources.
At Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (Figure 1), Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network scientists study how ecosystems may be changing by taking measurements of key resources, or “vital signs,” year after year—much as a doctor keeps track of a patient’s vital signs. This long-term ecological monitoring provides early warning of potential problems, allowing managers to mitigate them before they become worse. At Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, we monitor climate, among other vital signs.
Reporting is by water year (WY), which begins in October of the previous calendar year and goes through September of the water year (e.g., WY2024 runs from October 2023 through September 2024). This web report presents the results of climate monitoring at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (Figure 1) in WY2024.
Reference: Woodhouse, C. A., and J. T. Overpeck. 1998. 2000 years of drought variability in the central United States. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79(12): 2693–2714. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079%3C2693:YODVIT%3E2.0.CO;2
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Climate and Weather
There is often confusion over the terms “weather” and “climate.” In short, weather describes instantaneous meteorological conditions (e.g., it’s currently raining or snowing, it’s a hot or frigid day), and climate reflects patterns of weather at a given place over longer periods of time (seasons to years). Climate is the primary driver of ecological processes on earth. Climate and weather information provide context for understanding the status or condition of other park resources.
Methods
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Observer Program (NOAA COOP) weather station (CHEYENNE OK 6 SW #341743) is located 5.0 miles (8.0 km) south of Washita Battlefield National Historic Site and has been operational since 2009 (Figure 1). The long-term averages used for comparison in this report are from NOAA and are based on the period of record, 2009–2020. This station provides a reliable, long-term climate dataset used for analyses in this climate report. Data from this station are accessible through Climate Analyzer.
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Results
Precipitation
Annual precipitation near Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in WY2024 was 24.22″ (61.5 cm), 2.61″ (6.6 cm) less than the long-term annual average. Only three months received more precipitation than their long-term averages: December, January, and August (Figure 2). December was notably wetter than the period of reference, receiving nearly four times the 2009–2020 average precipitation. All other months received less precipitation than the long-term averages. March and June were especially dry, receiving only 26% and 20% of their typical rainfall, respectively. Extreme daily rainfall events (≥ 1.00″; 2.54 cm) occurred on 8 days (Table 1), more than the average annual frequency of 6.8 days.
Table 1. Extreme daily rainfall events at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in water year 2024 (WY2024).
| Date | Rainfall (in) | Rainfall (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2023 | 1.48 | 3.8 |
| 23 December 2023 | 1.49 | 3.8 |
| 05 January 2024 | 1.03 | 2.6 |
| 09 April 2024 | 1.33 | 3.4 |
| 27 April 2024 | 1.07 | 2.7 |
| 30 May 2024 | 1.08 | 2.7 |
| 09 August 2024 | 3.24 | 8.2 |
| 21 September 2024 | 1.25 | 3.2 |
Air Temperature
The mean annual maximum temperature near Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in WY2024 was 74.2°F (23.4°C), 3.0°F (1.7°C) above the long-term average. The mean annual minimum temperature in WY2024 was 50.7°F (10.4°C), 2.4°F (1.3°C) above the long-term average. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures in WY2024 differed by as much as 7.6°F (4.2°C; see February as an example) relative to the long-term monthly averages (Figure 2). Both mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures were above or similar to the long-term averages in every month except January. Mean monthly maximum temperatures in December, February, June, and August were ≥ 5.7°F (3.2°C) above average.
Extremely hot temperatures (≥ 98.0°F; 36.7°C) occurred on 40 days in WY2024, nearly twice the average frequency of 22 days. Extremely cold temperatures (≤ 20.0°F; −6.7°C) occurred on 11 days, seven days less than the average frequency of 18.6 days
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Drought
Reconnaissance drought index (Tsakiris and Vangelis 2005) provides a measure of drought severity and extent relative to the long-term climate. It is based on the ratio of average precipitation to average potential evapotranspiration (the amount of water loss that would occur from evaporation and plant transpiration if the water supply was unlimited) over short periods of time (seasons to years). The reconnaissance drought index for Washita Battlefield National Historic Site indicates that WY2024 was slightly drier than the 2010–2024 average from the perspective of both precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (Figure 3).
Reference: Tsakiris G., and H. Vangelis. 2005. Establishing a drought index incorporating evapotranspiration. European Water 9: 3–11.
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Report Citation
Authors: Kara Raymond, Andy Ray
Raymond, K., and A. Ray. 2025. Climate and Weather Monitoring at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site: Water Year 2024. Southern Plains Network, National Park Service, Pecos, New Mexico.