North Carolina sees drought, widespread abnormally dry conditions
The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified most of the state, or parts of 89 counties, as abnormally dry (D0 conditions), while 11 northeastern counties are now in Moderate Drought (D1), according to the latest advisory released Thursday.
The classifications follow October, a month where many rain gauges across the state recorded the top five lowest precipitation totals on record, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center. A few locations recorded their all-time lowest rainfall amounts for the month.
Many areas, including parts of the state hit by Hurricane Helene, have seen less than one tenth of an inch of rain since the beginning of October.
“The dryness has been the result of persistent high-pressure systems and cold fronts steering wetter air away from North Carolina,” said Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC. “While the dryness is noticeable, impacts so far have been limited. A very wet September saturated soils and filled reservoirs. In addition, municipal demands are lower, the majority of crops have been harvested, and recreational use of rivers is declining.”
The precipitation outlook is expected to improve.
“Indications are that the weather patterns are shifting, and the first part of November will remain warm but will see increased chances of rainfall,” Albertin said.
DMAC’s drought map is updated weekly on Thursdays.
DMAC is a collaboration of drought experts from various government agencies in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, and organized by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR). Members of DMAC meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor (i.e., drought map), a map of the nation’s drought conditions. To view North Carolina’s drought map, visit www.ncdrought.org. To view the U.S. drought map, visit http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
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