Dryness Increasing in the Southeast

The U.S. Drought Monitor's weekly drought summary for the Southeast indicated increased dryness in areas of  North Carolina and South Carolina. 

USDM Drought Summary Post July 8th, 2014
30-day PNPs, and declining soil moisture and pasture conditions suggest the early stages of a developing flash drought in this region. The AHPS 30-day PNPs reveal a long, broad swath of 50-percent of normal rainfall from the Florida Panhandle to the Delmarva Peninsula, with values ranging from 25 to 75 percent of normal. Forty-two percent of the state of Georgia reported Short or Very Short Topsoil Moisture, with North Carolina reporting 38 percent, South Carolina 60 percent, and Florida 17 percent. The extent of Subsoil Short or Very Short Moisture is 32 percent in both Georgia and North Carolina, 56 percent in South Carolina, and 16 percent in Florida. Pasture conditions are declining as well, with now just 40 percent rated Good to Excellent in South Carolina, and 50-60 percent in North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and Kentucky. 

Based on these indicators, and low stream flows (lowest quartile of historical distribution), abnormal dryness (D0) was added to the drought depiction in the westernmost counties of South Carolina, as well as a sizable portion of eastern South Carolina. D0 was also expanded in central North Carolina (which largely missed out on the heavy rainfall associated with an unusually strong cold front and Hurricane Arthur this past week), and north-central Georgia. 

 In southeast Alabama, D0 was added to the counties of Coffee, Dale, Henry, Barbour, Geneva, and Houston, based on similar indications for the other Southeastern states. According to the National Weather Service’s Southeast River Forecast Center, the southern part of the Chattahoochee River at the W.F. George Lake and Dam (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) has a current (July 9) river stage of 101.99 feet, far below the nominal flood stage value of 134 feet. In addition, D0 was also introduced to portions of Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north-central Alabama.