Dramatic pictures of low lake levels and water restrictions have been seen by many in the Southeast over the past year…the result of our ongoing drought. Of course, our extended period of dry weather is not the result of no rain; it’s the result of not enough rain averaged out over time. So it’s possible to get storm systems to drop two to four inches of rain on the area, but if we see very dry conditions on either side of that rainstorm, the drought will not be affected. So despite the heavy rain we have seen December 10-11, there’s no guarantee that we’ll will see anything beyond short-term improvement in the drought…we need to see a longer-term period of wet weather to see those water levels come up and stay up.
And yes, even in a drought, we can see flooding. Anytime we see too much rain too quickly, the natural run-off process may not be able to keep up…leading to localized flooding. There’s plenty of room for the water to go…it just needs time to get there.
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