Oklahoma Yards Taking Beating From Dry, Windy Conditions

Darren Brown, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A dry winter has led to an equally dry spring, and that has many people concerned about their yards.

It's not even summertime yet, but because of the sun and the Oklahoma wind, lawns are beginning to turn brown.

"As that wind goes over the leaf surfaces of plants, you have what's called evapotranspiration where you lose moisture rapidly with those high winds," said Ray Ridlen, OSU Extension

According to Mesonet data, this March was the driest on record.

And while a drenching rain isn't in Oklahoma's forecast in the next seven days, experts said the solution to keeping your yard green is pretty simple-- water your lawn, but water it intelligently.

"If your grass can't survive a day or two without water, you're watering wrong. We kind of turn our grass into water junkies. We're always spoon feeding that water right to the surface, and so if you water deep and let the top dry out, they'll go look for that moisture down below," Ridlen said.