DROUGHT STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 1015 AM EDT THU SEP 4 2008 ...DROUGHT CONTINUES TO WEAKEN ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA AS D4 DROUGHT AREA RETREATS... SYNOPSIS... WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FAY ABATED LATE LAST WEEK. SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2ND. THE WIDELY SCATTERED NATURE OF THE PRECIPITATION AFTER FAY...DID LITTLE TO IMPROVE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ANY FURTHER. A SERIES OF TROPICAL STORMS CROSSING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN MAY PROVIDE MORE RELIEF FROM THE DROUGHT. HOWEVER THIS DEPENDS ON THE PATH THESE STORMS TAKE. CHECK THE LATEST FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FOR INFORMATION ON TROPICAL WEATHER AT THEIR WEB SITE AT:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... SO FAR THERE HAS BEEN NO CHANGE IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT STATUS SINCE THE AUGUST 5TH MEETING. ANOTHER MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 16TH. IN THE MEAN TIME...THE STATUS OF COUNTIES IN THE NWS COLUMBIA AREA CONTINUES TO BE: IN THE WFO COLUMBIA AREA...MCCORMICK...EDGEFIELD...SALUDA AND NEWBERRY COUNTIES...CONTINUE TO BE IN EXTREME DROUGHT. FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW AND LANCASTER COUNTIES CONTINUE TO BE IN SEVERE DROUGHT. THE REST OF THE COLUMBIA HYDROLOGIC SERVICE AREA REMAINED IN MODERATE DROUGHT. THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE CHANGE IN WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND OTHER WATER DISTRICTS. FOR THE LATEST CHANGES SEE THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA CLIMATOLOGIST WEB PAGE AT:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/pls/drought/drought_restrict/
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE...USDA...CROP REPORT FOR AUGUST 31 2008 SHOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT IN CROPS. COTTON...PEANUT AND SORGHUM CROPS ARE SHOWING IMPROVEMENTS. SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS... THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR VALID ON...SEPTEMBER 2 2008 SHOWED... D4...EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT...PERSISTED OVER NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA COVERING SOUTHEAST PICKENS...ALL OF GREENVILLE... MOST OF SPARTANBURG...ALL OF ANDERSON MOST OF ABBEVILLE...MOST OF GREENWOOD...ALL OF LAURENS...FAR WESTERN UNION AND FAR NORTHWEST NEWBERRY COUNTIES. D3...EXTREME DROUGHT...SURROUNDED THE D4 AREA AND IT RETREATED NORTHWEST WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN EDGEFIELD COUNTY NORTHEAST TO FAR NORTHERN LEXINGTON COUNTY AND NORTH TO EASTERN CHEROKEE COUNTY. D2...SEVERE DROUGHT...COVERED AREAS SOUTH OF THE D3 AREA AND IT ALSO RETREATED WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM SOUTHEAST GEORGIA EAST ACROSS CENTRAL BARNWELL COUNTY AND NORTH TO THE BORDER OF YORK AND LANCASTER COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. D1...MODERATE DROUGHT...COVERED AREAS SOUTH OF THE D2 AREA AND IT ALSO RETREATED WITH THE SOUTHERN BORDER EXTENDING FROM FAR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA ACROSS NORTHERN JASPER COUNTY EAST TO NORTHWEST CHARLESTON COUNTY AND NORTHWEST TO CENTRAL CALHOUN COUNTY AND THEN NORTHEAST TO CENTRAL CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. D0...ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS...WERE SOUTH OF THE D1 AREA AND IT ALSO RETREATED WITH THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM FAR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA COAST ACROSS CENTRAL JASPER COUNTY AND EAST ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST AND THEN NORTH FROM WESTERN BERKLEY COUNTY TO FAR EASTERN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. THE FAR EASTERN CORNER OF HORRY COUNTY WAS ALSO ABNORMALLY DRY. THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH AND EAST OF THE D0 AREA WAS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE IN DROUGHT. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT SHORT TERM FLOODING IN THE NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE LAST 2 WEEKS OF AUGUST. MINOR RIVER FLOODING OCCURRED ON THE CONGAREE AND WATEREE RIVERS. THIS WAS IN RESPONSE TO VERY HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FAY. GROUND WATER CONDITIONS... THE GROUND WATER NETWORK MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CONTINUES TO SHOW DETERIORATING CONDITIONS...AS LONG TERM RAINFALL DEFICITS CONTINUE TO PUT PRESSURE ON GROUND WATER LEVELS. A HIGHER NUMBER MEANS LESS GROUND WATER. RECENT RAINS ARE STILL NOT ENOUGH TO REPLENISH GROUND WATER SYSTEMS. BAKER CREEK STATE PARK WELL BERKELEY COUNTY AIRPORT AUGUST 27 2008 40.40 FEET 64.29 FEET SEPTEMBER 3 2008 40.50 FEET RECORD LOW 64.39 FEET RECORD LOW DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.10 FEET MINUS 0.10 FEET TIMMONSVILLE CHESTER COUNTY AUGUST 27 2008 44.51 FEET 89.62 FEET SEPTEMBER 3 2008 44.51 FEET RECORD LOW 89.67 FEET NORMAL RANGE DIFFERENCE NO CHANGE MINUS 0.05 FEET RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS... OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2...FLOWS ON RANKED GAGES MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY INDICATED IMPROVEMENT ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE. ALL OF THE STATE HAD FLOW IN THE NORMAL RANGE EXCEPT THE SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN WHICH HAD FLOW IN THE 10 TO 24 PERCENTILE RANGE WHICH IS BELOW NORMAL. THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE CALCULATIONS FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING ON AUGUST 26. A SNAPSHOT OF THE FLOW REPORTED BY RANKED GAGES ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA ON THE EVENING OF SEPTEMBER 3RD SHOWED SOME DETERIORATION FROM THAT REPORTED ON AUGUST 27TH WITH 54 PERCENT OF THE RANKED GAGES REPORTING FLOW NOW IN THE 10 TO 24 OR LESS PERCENTILE RANGE. THE REST WERE IN THE NORMAL RANGE OR ABOVE. FLOWS FROM SELECTED RANKED GAGE SNAPSHOT ON SEPTEMBER 3RD SHOWED FLOWS TO BE 60 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW...LOWER THAN THAT REPORTED ON AUGUST 27TH. RESERVOIRS... SOME RESERVOIRS REPORTED RISES IN LEVELS WHILE OTHERS CONTINUE TO SHOW FALLING LEVELS. LEVELS ON THE SAVANNAH RIVER LAKE RUSSELL AND LAKE THURMOND CONTINUE TO BE BELOW NORMAL...WITH LAKE THURMOND WELL BELOW NORMAL. LAKE GREENWOOD LAKE THURMOND AUGUST 27 2008 435.60 FEET AUGUST 27 2008 315.69 FEET SEPTEMBER 3 2008 436.19 SEPTEMBER 3 2008 315.77 FEET DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.59 FEET PLUS 0.08 FEET LAKE RUSSELL LAKE MURRAY AUGUST 27 2008 472.73 FEET AUGUST 27 2008 356.70 FEET SEPTEMBER 3 2008 472.49 SEPTEMBER 3 2008 356.55 FEET DIFFERENCE MINUS 0.24 FEET MINUS 0.15 FEET LAKE MARION AUGUST 27 2008 71.37 FEET SEPTEMBER 3 2008 72.33 FEET DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.96 FEET LAKE WATEREE HAD FLOODING FROM THE VERY HEAVY RAINS THAT FELL IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THE LEVEL ON SEPTEMBER 2 WAS 98.9 FEET... UP JUST 0.1 FOOT FROM THAT ON AUGUST 28 2008. BOTH LAKES THURMOND AND LAKE RUSSELL CONTINUE TO BE BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR WITH LAKE THURMOND AROUND 11.2 FEET BELOW NORMAL AND LAKE RUSSELL 0.4 FEET BELOW NORMAL. DATA FOR THIS SEGMENT WAS GATHERED FROM THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY...UNITED STATES ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS AND DUKE ENERGY. CLIMATE SUMMARY... OVER THE PAST 30 DAYS ENDING ON SEPTEMBER 2...RAINFALL AVERAGED FROM 1.5 TO 2 INCHES IN WEST CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA TO AN AVERAGE OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA. AREAS IN NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST HAD 6 TO OVER 10 INCHES OF RAIN. DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL SHOWED THAT AREAS IN WEST CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA RECEIVED 1 TO 2 INCHES LESS THAN NORMAL WITH THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA HAD 1 TO 2 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. SOME AREAS IN NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST HAD 4 TO 8 INCHES OF RAIN ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 1 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2 2008 STATION PRECIPITATION DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL PERCENT OF NORMAL COLUMBIA SC 30.32 INCHES MINUS 5.17 INCHES 85 PERCENT AUGUSTA GA 27.54 INCHES MINUS 4.70 INCHES 85 PERCENT PRECIPITATION FROM SEPTEMBER 1 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2 2008 COLUMBIA SC 0.00 INCHES MINUS 0.31 INCHES ZERO PERCENT AUGUSTA GA 0.00 INCHES MINUS 0.27 INCHES ZERO PERCENT PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... CURRENT FORECAST OUT TO 7 DAYS... THE CURRENT FORECAST CALLS FOR INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE HANNA FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OF THIS WEEK. ONCE HANNA LEAVES...SUNDAY AND MONDAY WILL BE DRY WITH SLIGHT CHANCES OF RAIN TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE MID 80S TO AROUND 90 AND LOWS WILL BE IN THE 60S. THE 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM SEPTEMBER 9 TO SEPTEMBER 13 2008 CALLS EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. ALSO THERE IS A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. THE 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM SEPTEMBER 11 TO SEPTEMBER 17 2008 CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA AND A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THE OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA AND A 33 TO 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THE 3 MONTH OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER...OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF 2008 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. THERE IS A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA COAST. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... SOIL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE ACROSS THE AREA AND WITH THE SHORT TERM OUTLOOKS POINTING TO ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION AND NORMAL TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. IMPROVEMENT IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE THROUGH SEPTEMBER. HOWEVER GROUND WATER CONTINUES TO BE VERY SHORT AND IT WILL TAKE MANY WEEKS OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION TO RESTORE GROUND WATER SYSTEMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THE NEXT DROUGHT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 2 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/
NWS COLUMBIA DROUGHT PAGE...
http://www.weather.gov/cae/drought.php
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'S 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