Hot, dry conditions during most of June pushed Alamance County and most of the rest of the state into drought status this week, though a short period of cooler, damper weather set in Thursday.
The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council reported Thursday that all but one of the state’s 100 counties — Cherokee County in the western tip of the state — were either listed as abnormally dry or suffering moderate drought. Alamance County and all of its immediate neighbors except Randolph County and most of Chatham County were in moderate drought.
The advisory council reported that 57 counties were in moderate drought while 42 were abnormally dry. A week ago, no counties were categorized as being in any level of drought, and 67 counties were abnormally dry.
“Flash drought is now upon us, with much of northern and eastern N.C. entering moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions expanding westward,” the advisory council reported. “A two-category degradation in just two weeks qualifies as flash drought, and its impacts are now obvious across the landscape: streams reduced to a trickle, small ponds and roadside ditches completely dried up, and crops, lawns and gardens wilting and turning brown.”
The hot, dry streak has affected the state’s agriculture industry, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture reporting that 55% of the state’s corn crop is in poor or very poor condition.
The Piedmont Triad received some respite from dry conditions when rain returned Thursday for the first time in two and a half weeks. Rainfall totals were spotty, ranging from 0.02 inches to 0.3 inches, said Jonathan Blaes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Before Thursday, widespread, measurable rainfall had not been seen since early June.
The next decent chance for precipitation will arrive Sunday afternoon and evening, Blaes said.
“We have a front that’s coming in late in the weekend and, with that, we’ll have a better chance of showers and storms,” he said. “That’s the next hope for any meaningful rain. The rain threat for late Sunday could linger into Monday.”
Beyond that, “There’s no obvious weather system to break the (dry) pattern,” Blaes said.
