The Drought Monitor released this morning shows an expansion of exceptional and extreme drought across northern Georgia and Alabama. Extreme drought also expanded in South Carolina and was introduced into western North Carolina. Moderate drought also now covers almost all of Alabama except for a small area east of Mobile Bay.
With almost no rain in the forecast for the next seven days and a La Niña appearing to grow in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the likelihood of eliminating the drought in the next few weeks is very low and in fact, drought is likely to expand over the winter, although cooler temperatures and less active vegetation will reduce evaporation and evapotranspiration, assisting soil moisture recovery on the short term.
I’ve been hearing impacts from the drought in northwest Georgia which include not being able to irrigate using surface water withdrawals because stream flows are too low. What is happening in your area?
UPDATE: The State Climate Office of North Carolina produced an article this morning on the drought increase in western NC. You can read it at https://climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=217&h=5666e5c1.
NOAA’s fall and winter outlook should be released later today and may provide additional clues to what will happen with the drought over the next few months.
