Drought Report for Virginia and Elsewhere as of Mid-July 2012

The July 17, 2012, U.S. Drought Monitor (available at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/) rated as at least “abnormally dry” about 89 percent of Virginia (everywhere except an area around Danville/Martinsville, part of southwest, and the far southeastern corner); and it rated 16 percent of the Commonwealth in “moderate drought, ” including the following areas: Accomack County; most of the Northern Neck; an area of northern Virginia from Fairfax County to Page County; and an area in central Virginia from Dinwiddie County to Buckingham County. (The Drought Monitor notes that it “focuses on broad-scale conditions, and local conditions may vary.” See rating categories below.) This compares to 18 percent of Virginia rated abnormally dry in mid-June, 54 percent rated abnormally dry in mid-May, and 62 percent at least abnormally dry and 11 percent in moderate drought in mid-April. At this time last year (week of July 19, 2011), about 22 percent of Virginia was rated as at least abnormally dry and 2 percent was rated in moderate drought. For the current Virginia drought map, see http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?VA,SE (a link to archived maps and tabular data is available there, as well).

The Drought Monitor’s categories, from mildest to most severe, are as follows:
D0 = Abnormally Dry
D1 = Moderate Drought
D2 = Severe Drought
D3 = Extreme Drought
D4 = Exceptional Drought

The Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force, a collaboration of state and federal agencies, issued its most recent Drought Status Report on July 20, 2012. A link to that report is available online at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterSupplyWaterQuantity/Drought.aspx. The report includes information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Virginia departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Health, Forestry, and Environmental Quality.

The Drought Monitoring Task Force also produces a daily map rating groundwater levels (GW), precipitation deficits (Prcp), reservoir storage (Res), and stream flow (Flow) conditions across the Commonwealth. In each area, a color code indicates “normal,” “watch,” “warning,” or “emergency conditions.” The July 24, 2012, map is shown below. The current map and more information on the ratings are available online at the Web site listed above.

Elsewhere in the United States, over 72 percent of the country was categories as at least abnormally dry (combined categories D0-D4), and 35 percent was categorized as in at least severe drought (combined categories D2-D4); these are the highest such percentages since the beginning of the Drought Monitor in 2000. The following 16 states—including some large ones, you will note—had at least 50 percent of their area rated in at least D2 (the percentage rated in the combined D2-D4 is shown):
ARK = 96%
AZ = 94%|
CO = 100%
GA = 55%
IA = 59%
IL = 95%
IN = 87%
KS = 95%
MO = 93%
NE = 75%
NEV = 79%
NM = 80%
OK = 64%
TN = 52%
UT = 72%
WY = 64%.

For a look at the National Weather Service/Climate Prediction Center’s “U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook” for the next 90 days, visit http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html.

For previous Virginia Water Central News Grouper mid-month drought reports during the current year, please click the following links: