The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that drought is getting worse in Florida due to warm temperatures and the lack of significant rainfall. I am sure that irrigation of many of the crops there is in frequent use as they wait for more favorable rainfall conditions. It is currently their dry season but that should be changing soon as the tropical season starts to become active. North Carolina, South Carolina, and northern Georgia did see some improvement due to rainfall in the northern part of the region. I expect to see improvements in a lot of the region since heavy rain is expected in many areas over the weekend and early next week due to an atmospheric river feeding a lot of moisture into the region, which will be under the influence of a very slow-moving cut-off low. Many areas could see 3-7 inches of rain in the next week, so be prepared for some erosion and local flooding along with some downed trees and power outages due to the wet conditions. Temperatures through the end of May are expected to be warmer than normal but there is no clear signal for what happens with precipitation once the cut-off low moves out. There is no sign of tropical activity in the Atlantic or Gulf through the end of May.
