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2011 Drought Thread.


Isopycnic

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Rain is never evil for mby :wub::lol:

That makes me feel so much better. I'm glad there is this separate thread for drought. Until ~2/28, I'll feel so much more comfortable talking about the 'R" word in a positive tone here without the fear of an attack. Without this thread, I feel I would have had to put the "R" word on hiatus til 3/1 for my safety. Not being able to use the "R" word through all of meteorological winter wouldn't have been easy.

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Yea I would love to get some rain, we have been on water restrictions forever here! Luckily I planted Bermuda in my yard, so it has thrived even though I basically cant water it. Two days out of the week I can water my yard, or wash my car. The rest of the week it is no go on using any water outside, or we get fined.

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I cant read the graphic but it looks like that map has me in a moderate drought. Im not sure I buy that. I had 70" in 2009 and 52.75" last year. In real life terms I didn't have to water my garden at all last summer. Thunderstorms were sufficient for me.

that map has been horrible for several counties around here over the last 5 years. The only time it has the strongest drought here is when its big enough to cover half a state, and I've been in severe drought status for the last several years. Its only good for general geographic multi-state regions, and doesn't capture any kind of small wet or dry areas.

At any rate, I like our chances at finally get some good rain events into the Southeast, after a really dry period esp. here in the Carolinas. First the Tue/Wed storm, with thunderstorms and maybe 1.00" qpf , then the front stalls to our south and backing flow brings rains back into Ga and the Carolinas over the weekend. There may even be some snow under the upper low over Ark, Tx, La area with that 5H feature as it moves east, but our temps will look a little too warm, as we never get a good cold push on the east side of the Apps.

Looking further down the road, the PNA sends strong troughing out west to the midsection, coupled with flexing southeast ridge at times, so that should place the Southeast under good southwest flow for several more rounds of good rain events over the next couple of weeks. All very good news for the drought here.

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Is having rain instead of wintry precip. still considered evil or can we now focus on the fact that dry areas getting much needed rain is good news for the longer term?

well rain instead of wintry precip in the winter is always considered evil :devilsmiley: but i'd rather have a cool, rainy day than a warm and dry pattern. i didnt realize how dry it was until recently - we need rain so bring it on. while we have had a lot of events, i was paying attention to what was accumulating, not the liquid amount. it doesnt seem like its been dry (but it certainly has been)

That makes me feel so much better. I'm glad there is this separate thread for drought. Until ~2/28, I'll feel so much more comfortable talking about the 'R" word in a positive tone here without the fear of an attack. Without this thread, I feel I would have had to put the "R" word on hiatus til 3/1 for my safety. Not being able to use the "R" word through all of meteorological winter wouldn't have been easy.

after the drought a couple of years ago, i will never consider rain bad (even in winter, unless its 32.5 and rain lol)...that drought was horrible. you feel free to use the "R" word any time you want ( but add "freezing' before hand for good measure)

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North Carolina Drought Advisory

Released: February 3, 2011

The North Carolina Drought Advisory issued by the Drought Management Advisory Council has been updated to reflect drought conditions on February 1, 2011 indicated on the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor of North Carolina. Until further notice, the NCDMAC strongly urges the implementation of drought response actions, for all water users located in or dependent on water resources from the areas of the state experiencing the following drought conditions:

  • (D2) Severe drought conditions.
  • (D1) Moderate drought conditions.
  • (DO) Impending drought conditions (abnormally dry conditions).

http://www.ncdrought.org/

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WRAL had an article as well...

Severe drought conditions impact central NC

Posted: 2:22 p.m. today

Updated: 6:52 p.m. today RALEIGH, N.C. —Nearly half of North Carolina is under a drought, and more than a quarter is under severe drought.

An assessment of drought conditions released Thursday by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council estimates that 45 percent of the state is experiencing some sort of drought.

Of those, 27 counties in the central part of the state are in severe drought, the second worst level in the four-category system used to measure the drought.

Thirty-eight mountain and eastern counties are abnormally dry, which isn’t a drought category but means drought could emerge without adequate rainfall.

The state has grown increasingly parched over the last month due to a lack of significant rainfall. Despite snow over the past few months, the Triangle, for example, is 2.86 inches below rainfall for the year.

The Drought Council recommends that people who live in areas of severe drought eliminate nonessential uses of water.

“At this point, public water supplies are fine in North Carolina,” Council chairman Woody Yonts said. “But if dry conditions continue to occur, widespread impacts could quickly surface in the next few months as the temperatures begin to gradually increase and the growing season begins.”

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/9053923/

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Hey guys! I have a question for you. I was wondering if you know of a website for Georgia (or even Alabama) that deals with the drought monitor. Or an organization I can get in contact with. The reason I ask is because a reporter asked me about it and I gave her the generic response of we have seen below normal rainfall the past year or so and are running a deficit over the past couple of years (that's what my chief told me two months ago). I have been here only three months and am not sure about where to find it for Georgia/Alabama, besides the generic drought monitor. I also made sure to tell her it will take a couple of years of above normal rainfall to get out of this drought we are currently in. Besides that, I am at a loss for information for her. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back in the hills. It was so nice to get away for awhile. I have a question about drought. Do they conclude how dry it it is by how much rain has fallen over a determined amount of time or is it determined by actual soil moisture content ? The reason I ask is it is still sloppy wet here.

I know I could fine the answer to this on the internet but you think about that is exactly what I'm doing by asking here :P .

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Back in the hills. It was so nice to get away for awhile. I have a question about drought. Do they conclude how dry it it is by how much rain has fallen over a determined amount of time or is it determined by actual soil moisture content ? The reason I ask is it is still sloppy wet here.

I know I could fine the answer to this on the internet but you think about that is exactly what I'm doing by asking here :P .

Lazy rascal. LOL j/k. The reason its sloppy wet now is the lack of evaporation rates this time of year, and thats esp. true in mountainous terrain with all the sheltering, trees, and topography. Even down here its misleading b/c the ground is damp, just from it being Winter, not Summer. Throw in day after day of sunshine and it would begin to show its dryness, but in Winter theres too much in the way of cloudiness, and low sun angle, and low evap. rates, so it seems damp....even with as little precip as we've had since late November. To answer your question, they monitor drought on several levels, including the Palmer Index, short and long term, topsoil moisture, crop moisture, numerous other ways, as well as just by the exact numbers of inches of precip over a given time. You've got the drought monitor page bookmarked, right? They're always adding to the page there, but for a place with so much microclimate stuff going on as in NC, its really hard to pick out a drought on that page. The only time it has me in one is if CLT is in one, and thats usually not accurate at all for here. Its never picked up on lee-side drought, the main drought thats been going on since 1999. Have no idea why.

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I would assume this fire has something to do with the drought & our dry weather recently. Most of you in WNC probably already know about this. They had footage on WLOS this evening and you couldn't see the top of Chimney Rock State Park through the smoke.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110216/NEWS/302160057/Polk-wildfire-expected-grow?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

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I would assume this fire has something to do with the drought & our dry weather recently. Most of you in WNC probably already know about this. They had footage on WLOS this evening and you couldn't see the top of Chimney Rock State Park through the smoke.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

http://www.citizen-t...|text|Frontpage

I saw this fire the last few days travelling west on 74...figured it looks around Lake Lure/Chimney Rock area.

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Lazy rascal. LOL j/k. The reason its sloppy wet now is the lack of evaporation rates this time of year, and thats esp. true in mountainous terrain with all the sheltering, trees, and topography. Even down here its misleading b/c the ground is damp, just from it being Winter, not Summer. Throw in day after day of sunshine and it would begin to show its dryness, but in Winter theres too much in the way of cloudiness, and low sun angle, and low evap. rates, so it seems damp....even with as little precip as we've had since late November. To answer your question, they monitor drought on several levels, including the Palmer Index, short and long term, topsoil moisture, crop moisture, numerous other ways, as well as just by the exact numbers of inches of precip over a given time. You've got the drought monitor page bookmarked, right? They're always adding to the page there, but for a place with so much microclimate stuff going on as in NC, its really hard to pick out a drought on that page. The only time it has me in one is if CLT is in one, and thats usually not accurate at all for here. Its never picked up on lee-side drought, the main drought thats been going on since 1999. Have no idea why.

This is why we love you Robert. Thank you . :)

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Hey guys! I have a question for you. I was wondering if you know of a website for Georgia (or even Alabama) that deals with the drought monitor. Or an organization I can get in contact with. The reason I ask is because a reporter asked me about it and I gave her the generic response of we have seen below normal rainfall the past year or so and are running a deficit over the past couple of years (that's what my chief told me two months ago). I have been here only three months and am not sure about where to find it for Georgia/Alabama, besides the generic drought monitor. I also made sure to tell her it will take a couple of years of above normal rainfall to get out of this drought we are currently in. Besides that, I am at a loss for information for her. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I'm not sure what you're asking...

So I take it this is your generic drought monitor:

USA

http://www.drought.u...dm/monitor.html

GA

http://www.drought.u...state.htm?GA,SE

Here is an archive of drought conditions per state since 2000 http://www.drought.u...dm/archive.html

They also have this listed on their website:

"....For local details and impacts, please contact your State Climatologist or Regional Climate Center "

Also, free online sources of historical weather data: http://www.drought.u.../dm/source.html

anddd last but not least, NOAA Drought Monitor http://www.ncdc.noaa...nadm/index.html

For the amount of rain to end the drought: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/drought/recovery.php

Here is an examle using that website for 6 months total precip to end drought:

curr-end-6mon.gif

Hope I helped, a little?

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Unreal..... Ground is already drying up fast here. La Nina FTW...

same here. I've never seen dust flying in February like I have today. The winds are gusting up to 35+ and the dust is flying like crazy in huge sheets across the roads. There was only one good precip event this Winter with 1" +, otherwise its been extremely dry here since the few August thunderstorms.

The longer range GFS and ECMWF have alittle hope with some possible split flow but its a ways off.

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Earlier this evening I was cleaning the sidewalk off with a water hose and the water ran off into the grass and just sat there.It took a few minutes for the ground to absorb the water.Even my daughter asked me why the water was just standing there.That's when I realized exactly how dry it is out there.

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