DROUGHT STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 250 PM EDT THU JUL 10 2008 ...LITTLE CHANGE IN THE DROUGHT IN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH REGION OF GEORGIA... SYNOPSIS... HEAVY RAINS ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA BROUGHT SOME RELIEF. SOME FLASH FLOODING OCCURRED BUT IT WAS ISOLATED. MUCH OF THE RAIN FELL IN A BAND EXTENDING ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL TO NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND THEN SOUTHWEST FROM THERE ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA TO SOUTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA. AMOUNTS RANGED FROM 1 TO 4 INCHES WITH AS MUCH AS 6 INCHES ACROSS NORTHEAST CHESTERFIELD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. ELSEWHERE...RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH TO ONE INCH. THERE WERE ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG THE NORTHEAST COAST AND OVER THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE STATE. THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN MISSED THE HEAVIER RAINFALL. RAINFALL TOTALS WERE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL OVER THE NORTHWEST AND ALONG THE COAST. WHERE THE HEAVIER RAINS FELL...AMOUNTS WERE FROM A HALF INCH ABOVE NORMAL TO AS MUCH AS 5 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... THE SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT RESPONSE COMMITTEE HAS NOT CHANGED THE DROUGHT STATUS OF THE STATE. THE STATUS DECLARED AT THEIR JUNE 30 2008 MEETING CAN BE FOUND BELOW. IN THE WFO COLUMBIA AREA... EDGEFIELD...SALUDA...NEWBERRY...FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW AND LANCASTER COUNTIES CONTINUE TO HAVE SEVERE DROUGHT. WHILE THE REST OF THE WFO COLUMBIA FORECAST AREA CONTINUES TO BE IN MODERATE DROUGHT...THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE CHANGE IN WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS ACROSS THE STATE WITH MOST AREAS HAVING VOLUNTARY WATER RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE. MANDATORY RESTRICTIONS CONTINUE TO APPLY TO SOME LOCATIONS IN FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW...LANCASTER...LEXINGTON...MCCORMICK...RICHLAND AND SUMTER COUNTIES. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS CAN BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/pls/drought/drought_restrict
THE JUNE 29 CROP REPORT FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SHOWED THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA CORN CROP HAS BEEN DAMAGED BY THE DROUGHT WITH 44 PERCENT OF THE CROP RATING AS VERY POOR. OTHER CROPS ARE SUFFERING DAMAGE AS WELL WITH 39 PERCENT OF THE CUCUMBER CROP AND 25 PERCENT OF THE HAY CROP ALSO RATED AS VERY POOR. THE SOUTH CAROLINA FORESTRY COMMISSION REPORTED THAT FIRES HAVE INCREASED ACROSS THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA FROM THE 2007 TOTALS. OF THOSE FIRES...21 PERCENT ARE BEING CAUSED BY LIGHTNING. IN 2007 ONLY 4 PERCENT WERE CAUSED BY LIGHTNING. SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS... THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR VALID ON...JULY 8 2008 SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE IN THE DROUGHT ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND EASTERN GEORGIA. D4...EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT...COVERED NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM CENTRAL OCONEE COUNTY SOUTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL ANDERSON TO NORTHEAST ABBEVILLE AND ACROSS SOUTHERN LAURENS...FAR NORTHERN NEWBERRY AND NORTHEAST TO WESTERN YORK COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. D3...EXTREME DROUGHT...COVERED AREAS SOUTH OF THE D4 AREA WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA ACROSS SOUTHERN EDGEFIELD TO NORTHEAST RICHLAND COUNTY THEN SOUTHEAST ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN KERSHAW AND THEN NORTH TO WESTERN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. D2...SEVERE DROUGHT...COVERED AREAS SOUTH OF THE D3 AREA WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM SOUTHEAST GEORGIA ACROSS CENTRAL ALLENDALE NORTHEAST TO SOUTHERN LEE THEN NORTH TO NORTHEAST CHESTERFIELD COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. D1...MODERATE DROUGHT...COVERED AREAS SOUTH OF THE D2 AREA WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FAR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA TO CENTRAL BEAUFORT COUNTY TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST...THEN NORTHWEST TO NORTHERN BERKLEY AND THEN SOUTHEAST TO SOUTHERN HORRY COUNTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA D0...ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS...COVERED THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH OF THE D1 AREA. GROUND WATER CONDITIONS... THE GROUND WATER NETWORK MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IS SHOWING SOME IMPROVEMENT...BUT MOST ARE STILL READING NEAR RECORD LOW LEVELS. A HIGHER NUMBER MEANS LESS GROUND WATER. BAKER CREEK STATE PARK WELL BERKLEY COUNTY AIRPORT JULY 2 2008 40.04 FEET 64.53 FEET JULY 10 2008 40.11 FEET RECORD LOW 64.49 FEET RECORD LOW DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.07 FEET PLUS 0.04 FEET TIMMONSVILLE CHESTER COUNTY JULY 2 2008 43.33 FEET 89.09 FEET JULY 10 2008 43.07 FEET 10 PERCENTILE 89.03 FEET NORMAL RANGE DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.26 FEET PLUS 0.06 FEET RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS... OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS THROUGH JULY 9...FLOW ON RANKED GAGES MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ARE SHOWING SOME IMPROVEMENT...BUT THE SOUTHWEST TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE CONTINUES TO BE IN A SEVERE HYDROLOGIC DROUGHT. HEAVY RAINS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST THIRD OF THE STATE RAISED THE FLOWS TO A MODERATE DROUGHT LEVEL. A SNAPSHOT OF THE GAGES ON THE MORNING OF JULY 10 SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT SITUATION. ONLY 56 PERCENT OF THE GAGES ARE REPORTING FLOW IN THE LESS THAN 10 PERCENTILE RANGE. SELECTED RANKED GAGES SHOW A FLOW OF 43 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW AN IMPROVEMENT OF 10 PERCENT. RESERVOIRS... ALL RESERVOIRS REPORTED CONTINUE TO SHOW LITTLE CHANGE BUT MOSTLY FALLING LEVELS FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS. LAKE GREENWOOD LAKE THURMOND JULY 3 2008 437.46 FEET JULY 3 2008 319.11 FEET JULY 10 2008 437.21 FEET JULY 10 2008 319.06 FEET DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.25 FEET MINUS 0.05 FEET LAKE RUSSELL LAKE MURRAY JULY 3 2008 473.26 FEET JULY 3 2008 357.63 FEET JULY 9 2008 473.10 FEET JULY 10 2008 357.53 FEET DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.16 FEET MINUS 0.10 FEET LAKE MARION JUNE 12 2008 72.77 FEET JULY 3 2008 72.44 FEET DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.33 FEET LAKE WATEREE HAS SHOWN AN INCREASE IN POOL LEVEL WITH THE JULY 10 HEIGHT NOW AT 97.7 FEET...0.5 FEET HIGHER THAN THAT REPORTED ON JULY 3 2008 BOTH LAKES THURMOND AND LAKE RUSSELL CONTINUE TO BE BELOW NORMAL THIS TIME OF YEAR WITH LAKE THURMOND 9.2 FEET BELOW NORMAL AND LAKE RUSSELL 0.9 FEET BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. DATA FOR THIS SEGMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM THE USGS...USACE AND DUKE ENERGY. CLIMATE SUMMARY... PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 1 THROUGH JULY 10 2008 STATION PRECIPITATION DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL PERCENT OF NORMAL COLUMBIA SC 20.12 INCHES MINUS 5.73 INCHES 78 PERCENT AUGUSTA GA 19.03 INCHES MINUS 5.58 INCHES 77 PERCENT PRECIPITATION FROM JUNE 1 THROUGH JULY 10 2008 COLUMBIA SC 4.93 INCHES MINUS 1.68 INCHES 75 PERCENT AUGUSTA GA 2.14 INCHES MINUS 3.24 INCHES 40 PERCENT PRECIPITATION FROM JULY 1 THROUGH JULY 10 2008 COLUMBIA SC 2.14 INCHES PLUS 0.52 INCHES 132 PERCENT AUGUSTA GA 1.25 INCHES PLUS 0.06 INCHES 105 PERCENT JULY 2008 IS SHOWING ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION AT BOTH STATIONS. BOTH STATIONS ARE LOCATED IN THE STRIP OF HEAVIER RAINFALL DISCUSSED IN THE SYNOPSIS SECTION ABOVE. PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... CURRENT FORECAST OUT TO 7 DAYS... THE CURRENT FORECAST FROM THIS THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY CALLS FOR CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO HELP MITIGATE THE DROUGHT IN AREAS THAT GET THEM...BUT THE SCATTERED NATURE OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL PREVENT WIDESPREAD RELIEF FROM THE DROUGHT. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 90S AND LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S. THE 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM JULY 15 TO JULY 19...CALLS FOR A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA WITH EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND NORTHERN GEORGIA. THERE IS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA EXCEPT ALONG THEIR COASTS WHERE THERE IS A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM JULY 17 TO JULY 23 2008 CALLS FOR A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA WITH EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ELSEWHERE. THERE ARE EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REST OF JULY 2008 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW...OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN OF GEORGIA. THE 3 MONTH OUTLOOK FOR JULY...AUGUST...AND SEPTEMBER 2008 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN OF GEORGIA. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... SOIL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO BE SHORT ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...BUT RECENT RAINS ARE PROVIDING SOME RELIEF. TEMPERATURES IN JULY ARE ALSO RUNNING BELOW NORMAL WHICH HELPS TO REDUCE EVAPORATION. GROUND WATER MEASUREMENTS ARE ALSO SHOWING SIGNS OF RELIEF AS WELL. THE CURRENT WEATHER PATTERN FAVORS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THIS WILL PROVIDE SOME RELIEF TO DROUGHT STRICKEN AREAS...BUT THE SCATTERED NATURE OF THE PRECIPITATION LIMITS THE CHANCE OF MASSIVE RELIEF. THE VERY SHORT TERM FORECASTS INDICATE A CONTINUED CHANCE OF RAIN THROUGH WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. THE LONGER TERM OUTLOOKS TEMPER THAT CHANCE INDICATING MORE UNCERTAINTY IN THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. THERE STILL IS THE CHANCE FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT FOR SOUTH CAROLINA...BUT NO END TO IT CAN BE EXPECTED FOR NOW. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THE NEXT DROUGHT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ON THURSDAY AUGUST 7 2008 UNLESS THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE DROUGHT STATUS. RELATED WEB SITES... ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT DROUGHT MAY BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES:
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...
http://www.drought.noaa.gov/
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CLIMATOLOGIST...
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/
ADDITIONAL RIVER AND LAKE INFORMATION: NWS...
http://www.weather.gov/water/
USACE...
http://water.sas.usace.army.mil/home
USGS...
http://www.usgs.gov/
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING NOAA/ NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE...THE USDA...USACE AND THE USGS. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS... IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT STATEMENT PLEASE CONTACT... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 2909 AVIATION WAY WEST COLUMBIA SC 29170 PHONE: 803-822-8135 INTERNET ADDRESS W-CAE.webmaster@noaa.gov