Hydrologists often use the period from October 1 to September 30 as the “Water Year” to describe rainfall over time. They choose this period because it is the end of the summer depletion of soil moisture and the average start of the fall and winter recharge period. Often, the end of the water year corresponds with the lowest base flow levels in streams. For the water year that just ended, most of the Southeast was drier than usual with some exceptions, particularly in Florida. The driest areas in south Georgia correspond quite well with areas that have recently been in severe drought. You can read a brief article about it in the newsletter from CoCoRaHS here.
