Drought Declaration Lifted In South Carolina

For the first time in almost three years, no area of South Carolina is under a drought declaration.

On Wednesday, all 19 upstate counties were removed from the drought declaration by the South Carolina Drought Response Committee. In April the committee lifted the drought declaration for the remaining 27 counties.

“The timing, amount and duration of the rainfall have brought all drought indicators back to normal levels,“ said Hope Mizzell, South Carolina State Climatologists. “Many stations report above normal rainfall since January.“

The Department of Natural Resources report that monitored streams and lake levels around South Carolina are normal, except near the Savannah River basin, which remains below normal. The Department of Natural Resources also reports that upstate wells show improvement with water levels rising.

‘Every region of the state has been impacted by this drought,“ said Ken Rentiers, Chairman of the SC Drought Response Committee. “The return to a normal rainfall pattern brings welcome relief.“ 

Greenville-Spartanburg has experienced 23 inches of rain so far this yearm while Anderson has received 25 inches and Gaffney 27 inches.