Sometimes Lost in the News: It’s Still a Drought

The turmoil in the news lately…Hurricane Ike, gas shortages, financial problems, presidential politics, and so on…have partially obscured what was a big area story this summer: persistent drought.  The fact that we have received a couple of good rain storms over the past couple of months has also given the perception that it has been wetter, making the drought less of an issue to many people.  Although our August rainfall was above-average for the month, it barely dented the rain deficit we continue to have.

Your perception is also tinted by where you live.  If you live in Anderson where mandatory water restrictions have been put in place and you see regularly have to see what Lake Hartwell looks like, you know that it’s a rough situation as far as water is concerned.  Meanwhile in Greenville and Spartanburg Counties, some of the lakes and reservoirs are only a little bit down, and restrictions are voluntary.  However, there are locations where the lake level drop is more dramatic…if anyone has seen the difference in lake levels with respect to normal between Lake Bowen and Lake Blalock, you’re fully aware of this.

As we wrap up a September that will see below-average rainfall, we are about to enter what is typically our driest time of year…October and November.  Our prospects for catching up on the drought won’t be that great short-term; our best hope of catching up on rain will be in winter and spring when we are traditionally wetter.

The stretch from now through spring will be critical to the drought.  If we do not establish near or above-normal precipitation by the time the weather warms up in late spring of 2009, the water supplies will not recharge and what you see now could pale in comparison to what we will see next summer in terms of drought intensity. 

Regardless of what the conditions are where you live, until we start receiving regular, meaningful rainfall, you need to pay close attention to the restrictions in place across the region.  This will make conditions for all of us a bit less severe next year in case the rains don’t return.