BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – The S.C. Drought Response Committee has upgraded the drought status to incipient for Berkeley County and 10 other coastal counties.
Incipient is the first level of drought followed by moderate, severe and extreme. SCDNR officials said low streamflow conditions and below-normal top-soil and subsoil moisture were the primary driving factors leading to the drought declaration.
According to S.C. State Climatologist Hope Mizzell, the rainfall over the last 90 days has been below normal for Berkeley County and the other coastal counties. Some observers along the coast reported less than five inches since Dec. 22, which is 50 percent of normal.
The U.S. Drought Monitor was one of the drought indicators supporting the upgrade. Elliot Wickham, S.C. State Climate Office water resources climatologist, explained that the current U.S. Drought Monitor map has all of coastal South Carolina in moderate drought (D1) and even after the recent rain the D1 designation will likely remain in place due to the rainfall deficit that has accumulated over the last 60 days.
According to Darryl Jones, forest protection chief for the S.C. Forestry Commission, “Although some parts of the state have received enough rainfall to moderate conditions, wildfire occurrence has been higher than normal over the last two months, particularly along the coast. Where drought conditions are still in place, fires are easier to ignite and usually take more resources to suppress. In most years, peak wildfire activity occurs during March and April, and we expect those conditions this year due to dry, cured fuels combined with higher winds and low relative humidity associated with frontal passages.”
Priyanka More, SCDNR hydrologist, provided an update of the hydrologic conditions summarizing that rainfall in last two to three weeks helped bring declining streamflows back to their normal status for most of the state. However, for some of the streams near the coast the deficit was too significant and the recent rain not enough to increase flows. The recent flows at the Waccamaw and the Little Pee Dee gauges in Horry County are at or below the record low flows for this time of the year.
It is early in the growing season for many crops, but Blake Badger, Farm Service Agency district director, said dry conditions this early in the year are creating anxiety for some producers. Increasing temperatures will cause already dry conditions to further deteriorate, with the potential that some crops will not be planted.
Clint Elliott, lab supervisor for Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority and representative from the Northeast Drought Management Area, discussed the dry conditions in Horry, Marion and Georgetown counties. According to Elliott, “Even though the forecast predicts potential rain for our area in the coming days, the data we have to evaluate and the conditions seen around the counties as of now puts us into a deficit that will continue until a significant and soaking rain event brings the rivers and soils back to normal.”
Mizzell stressed that for the very low streamflows it will take a consistent pattern of normal rainfall to stabilize the flows.
The South Carolina Drought Response Committee will continue to monitor conditions moving through the spring and will reconvene in late April.
If you enjoy what you’re reading, please consider liking us on: Facebook, subscribing to our newsletter and following us on Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to also join our Facebook groups: Berkeley County, SC Residents: What’s On Your Mind?, Berkeley County Real Estate: Lots & Homes for Sale/Rent and Berkeley County, SC Jobs: Find a Job or Post a Job.
Psst!!! Got something to say and want to reach your neighbors? Not everyone is on social media. Check out our neighbor forum today and start a conversation. It’s easy! No registration/logging in is required to post. We’ll even amplify your forum post on Facebook to reach more people, too. [CLICK HERE TO START THE CONVO]
Recent Comments