Drought conditions worsen, rain chance through the weekend

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Despite recent rain, extreme drought conditions are still in place, according to the latest update. Thankfully, there is a higher chance of rain over the weekend and into next week.

According to last week’s update, an alarming 6% of South Carolina was in “extreme drought.” In addition, 73% of South Carolina was in moderate drought and 30% of South Carolina was in severe drought.

In the new morning update We have seen little change in the current drought situation.

Six percent of South Carolina remains in “extreme drought,” 36 percent is in moderate drought, and 73 percent is in severe drought. The only change is that another 6% of South Carolina is now suffering from severe drought.

Scattered summer showers in Florida, Georgia and Alabama this week were accompanied by more widespread rainfall along the coast from North Carolina into South Carolina and Georgia. Temperatures were above normal across most of the region, with the highest temperatures occurring in northern Florida and southern Georgia and South Carolina, where temperatures were 3 to 5 degrees above normal. Coastal rains in the Carolinas allowed for some improvement in moderate drought and unusually dry conditions here. Moderate drought in central Florida was also improved, along with an improvement in unusually dry conditions. The rest of the region saw worsening, primarily in short-term indicators as conditions change rapidly. Most of northern Alabama and Mississippi had a full worsening category this week, with an expansion of moderate and severe drought conditions. Moderate and severe drought has also expanded across much of Tennessee this week, with a new area of ​​extreme drought in southern Tennessee extending into northern Alabama. Another new area of ​​extreme drought has been established in western Alabama and eastern Mississippi, and extreme drought has expanded slightly in eastern South Carolina, along with a new area of ​​extreme drought in northern North Carolina.

The U.S. Drought Monitor has been a team effort since its inception in 1999 and is produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Drought is a normal part of the climate. It is a slow-moving hazard that can cause people to underestimate the damage it can cause. However, losses from drought can be as great as those from hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters. Drought causes losses in agriculture, affects domestic water supplies, energy production, public health and wildlife, and contributes to wildfires, to name just a few of its impacts. However, it is important to note that large urban water systems generally have diverse water supplies and can provide water flow during both dry and wet seasons.

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