By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The recent predictions by many meteorologists for 2.5 inches of rain in Hays did not materialize.

During the three-day forecast window, just 0.41 of an inch of precipitation was officially recorded in Hays at the K-State Agricultural Research Center, according to weather records keeper Joe Becker.

“I made copies from the Internet of the weather-rain-storm photos taken this past week in (other areas of) Kansas, then pasted them to the office windows so that we can imagine rain is coming when we look outside,” Becker joked in his daily weather report April 21.

Jeff Boyle, Director of Hays Parks, also joked a bit that “most people remember to water new trees they’ve just planted.”  He’s also encouraging residents to “deep water” mature trees on their property.

“Even though we are in a major drought and conserving water as best we can, my recommendation is to go ahead and deep water your trees.

“From January 2011 until today, Hays is about one foot behind normal precipitation for that period.

“As a general rule of thumb, if you can water your tree within the dripline of the canopy, typically that would be adequate for the tree to survive through this (drought) period.

“You can’t replace a 30-year-old tree in a season; you can replace a yard in a season,” Boyle added.