The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council announced on Apr. 2 that drought conditions have worsened across the state, with 15 counties now experiencing extreme drought and most other counties facing severe or moderate drought.
The situation is serious because precipitation totals over the last six months are nearly 10 inches below normal in many areas, according to data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center. Some regions are seeing even greater deficits, and rainfall stations at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Hickory, and Charlotte have recorded their driest six-month periods on record. U.S. Geological Survey data show that many streams and rivers are at all-time low levels.
Klaus Albertin, chair of the Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC), said, “Winter is usually the time when North Carolina’s water supplies get replenished due to good rains and low-water demand, but those good rains did not happen this winter.” He added, “The rain we’ve had so far has not been enough to make up for the precipitation deficit. The snowfall that we had this winter had lower-than-normal water content, with snow-to-water equivalents of more than 20 inches of snow to 1 inch of water.”
Albertin said impacts from drought have been limited during winter due to lower water demand but warned that more significant effects could occur if dry conditions persist: “We could see poor growth for farmers at the start of the growing season, or delays in planting, low reservoir levels and closed boat launches.”
Water systems in counties classified as being in extreme drought (D3) are advised to follow their Water Shortage Response Plan and implement water use reduction measures. These systems must also report weekly on their status through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resource’s Local Water Supply Plan website. “The public should follow any local water supply restrictions,” Albertin said. “Municipal websites are usually the best place to look for information on restrictions that are in place.”
Due to increased wildfire risk associated with dry conditions, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a statewide ban on all open burning effective March 28 until further notice.
DMAC is a group made up of drought experts from government agencies across North Carolina as well as Virginia and South Carolina; it is organized by DWR (Division of Water Resources). DMAC meets weekly to assess current conditions and submits recommendations for updates to national agencies such as NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), and NDMC (National Drought Mitigation Center) for inclusion in updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor map.
