Drought Update

Drought conditions expanded across parts of the state this week. The western most portion of North Carolina is now in an extreme drought. In our part of the state, the Sandhills are in a moderate drought while the Triangle remains abnormally dry.

As of Sunday evening, here's a look at year to date rainfall deficits across the state --

• Lumberton: -9.83"
• Wilmington: -8.13"
• Asheville: -7.98"
• Cape Hatteras: -6.26"
• New Bern: -4.43"
• Raleigh-Durham: -3.94"
• Greensboro: -3.38"

We don't expect any relief from the drought conditions for the next several days. Our next chance for rain won't come until next weekend when there's a slight chance for scattered afternoon thunderstorms.

As we move into the summer months, most of our rainfall will come in the form of scattered afternoon thunderstorms. These produce a short burst of rain in one neighborhood while other communities miss out on the heavier rains. Because of this, the scattered showers and storms don't help much to alleviate drought conditions.

Our only hope for some help would come from a weak tropical system that would bring beneficial soaking rains. An active hurricane season wouldn't be so bad if all the storms remained just weak systems. We certainly don't wish for damaging winds and flooding, but soaking rains could benefit much of the southeast.

The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, so stay tuned...

For more information on drought in North Carolina, click to www.ncdrought.org.