National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Columbia, SC
Versions: 1 2 3 4
000
AXUS72 KCAE 281444
DGTCAE

GAC033-073-181-189-245-SCC003-009-011-017-025-027-037-039-055-057-061
-063-065-071-075-079-081-085-181300-

DROUGHT STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1025 AM EDT THU MAR 28 2013

...BENEFICIAL RAINS LEAD TO IMPROVED SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS ACROSS
MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA...

                        ...SYNOPSIS...

OVER THE LAST 7 DAYS ENDING ON MARCH 27 2013...NORMAL TO ABOVE NORMAL
PRECIPITATION OCCURRED ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA WITH
NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTHERN SIXTH OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND A SMALL AREA OF WEST CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND A SMALL PART
OF EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND EASTERN GEORGIA HAD ABOVE NORMAL
PRECIPITATION WITH AMOUNTS RANGING FROM A HALF INCH TO 2 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL AND MORE OVER SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL.

SEE WWW.WATER.WEATHER.GOV/PRECIP/ FOR MORE DETAILS.

                     ...SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

THE SOOUTH CAROLINA STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION REPORTED SCATTERED
WILD FIRES ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE STATE.  ALL ARE UNDER
CONTROL.

THE UNITED STATES CORP OF ENGINEERS WILL CONTINUE RELEASING 4000 CFS
FROM LAKE THURMOND THROUGH EARLY APRIL 2013.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT HAS OCCURRED OVER MUCH OF GEORGIA WITH
ONLY EAST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL GEORGIA IN MODERATE...D1 DROUGHT.

GO TO DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE GEORGIA DROUGHT.

                    ...SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS...

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR VALID ON MARCH 28 2013 FOR DATA THROUGH
MARCH 26 2013 SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA
AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

                          ...DETAILS...

D2...SEVERE DROUGHT...HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND GEORGIA.

D1...MODERATE DROUGHT...COVERED PARTS OF NORTHERN AND WEST
CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND PART OF THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER
AREA IN GEORGIA. THE D1 AREA IS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM NORTHEAST
GEORGIA ACROSS NORTHWEST ABBEVILLE COUNTY TO NORTHERN YORK
COUNTY TO NORTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY TO NORTH CAROLINA AND
NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM NORTH CAROLINA ACROSS EASTERN
MARLBORO COUNTY TO CENTRAL DARLINGTON COUNTY TO FAR
SOUTHEAST GREENWOOD COUNTY TO NORTHWEST SALUDA COUNTY
TO FAR SOUTHEAST AIKEN COUNTY TO EASTERN ALLENDALE COUNTY
TO FAR SOUTHWEST BARNWELL COUNTY TO EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

LINCOLN...RICHMOND...COLUMBIA AND MCDUFFIE COUNTIES IN THE
CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA WERE IN MODERATE
DROUGHT D1.

D0...ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS...SURROUNDED THE D1 AREA.
THE D0 AREA IS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM NORTHEAST GEORGIA
ACROSS FAR SOUTHWEST ANDERSON COUNTY TO NORTHWEST CHEROKEE
COUNTY TO NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM NORTH
CAROLINA ACROSS NORTHWEST HORRY COUNTY TO NORTHERN CALHOUN
COUNTY TO EASTERN CALHOUN COUNTY TO EASTERN CLARENDON
COUNTY TO FAR NORTHWEST BERKLEY COUNTY TO FAR NORTHWEST
COLLETON COUNTY TO FAR EASTERN BEAUFORT COUNTY TO THE
ATLANTIC OCEAN. THIS INCLUDED THE NORTHERN FRINGES OF BURKE
COUNTY IN GEORGIA.

THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE REST OF BURKE COUNTY IN GEORGIA
WERE DROUGHT FREE.

GO TO DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU FOR MORE DETAILS.

            ...SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT COMMITTEE...

THE SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT RESPONSE COMMITTEE CONTINUE TO KEEP
THE CHANGES AGREED TO ON JANUARY 31 2013.

THE COMMITTEE USES SEVERAL INDICATORS TO DETERMINE THE DROUGHT
STATUS OF WHICH THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR IS ONLY ONE.

SO...NEWBERRY...SALUDA...LEXINGTON...MCCORMICK...EDGEFIELD...
BARNWELL...AIKEN...BAMBERG AND ORANGEBURG COUNTIES CONTINUE TO BE
IN MODERATE DROUGHT

AND FAIRFIELD...LANCASTER...CHESTERFIELD...LEE...SUMTER...CALHOUN...
RICHLAND...KERSHAW AND CLARENDON COUNTIES CONTINUE TO BE IN
INCIPIENT DROUGHT.

               ...GROUND WATER CONDITIONS...

THE GROUND WATER NETWORK MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY WAS USED IN THIS REPORT. GROUND WATER LEVELS FROM MARCH 28
2013 SHOWED CONTINUED DETERIORATION AT BOTH BERKELEY COUNTY AIRPORT
AND AT CHESTER COUNTY WITH BAKER CREEK STATE PARK SHOWING SOME
IMPROVEMENT. HOWEVER GROUND WATER LEVELS CONTINUE TO BE LOW
SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF THE LONG TERM DROUGHT WHICH HAS OCCURRED
OVER MUCH OF THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY.

A HIGHER NUMBER MEANS A LOWER WATER TABLE AND THEREFORE LESS GROUND
WATER.  A MINUS DIFFERENCE INDICATES LESS GROUND WATER.

BAKER CREEK STATE PARK WELL
MARCH       21 2013   42.96 FEET
MARCH       28 2013   42.92 FEET
DIFFERENCE       PLUS  0.04 FEET

BERKELEY COUNTY AIRPORT
MARCH       21 2013   59.70 FEET
MARCH       28 2013   59.78 FEET
DIFFERENCE      MINUS  0.08

CHESTER COUNTY
MARCH       21 2013   93.67 FEET
MARCH       28 2013   93.72 FEET
DIFFERENCE       MINUS 0.05 FEET

               ...RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS...

OVER THE LAST WEEK ENDING ON MARCH 27 2013...THE PEE DEE...THE
WATEREE AND LOCAL RIVER BASINS IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA HAD BELOW
NORMAL FLOWS...BETWEEN 10 AND 24 PERCENTILE RANGE.

THE REST OF THE RIVER BASINS IN SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING THE
SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN WERE NOT IN HYDROLOGIC DROUGHT.

A SNAPSHOT OF RANKED RIVERS AND STREAM GAGES ON MARCH 28 2013
SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OVER THE PAST WEEK WITH
ONLY 24 PERCENT OF RANKED GAGES REPORTING LESS THAN 25
PERCENTILE RANGE. SELECTED RANKED GAGES ON MARCH 28 2013
SHOWED 110 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW...SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT
OVER THE FLOW ON MARCH 21 2013.

DATA SOURCE...UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

                        ...RESERVOIRS...

ALL OF THE 6 RESERVOIRS IN THE TABLE BELOW HAD RISES
OVER THE PAST WEEK.

LAKE RUSSELL                            LAKE THURMOND
MARCH    21 2013 474.50 FEET              321.77 FEET
MARCH    28 2013 474.86 FEET              323.77 FEET
DIFFERENCE    PLUS 0.36 FEET          PLUS  2.00 FEET

LAKE GREENWOOD                            LAKE MURRAY
MARCH    21 2013 437.56 FEET              358.24 FEET
MARCH    28 2013 438.33 FEET              358.27 FEET
DIFFERENCE    PLUS 0.77 FEET          PLUS  0.03 FEET

LAKE MARION                              LAKE WATEREE
MARCH    21 2013  75.38 FEET               97.19 FEET
MARCH    28 2013  75.47 FEET               97.74 FEET
DIFFERENCE    PLUS 0.09 FEET          PLUS  0.55 FEET

THE LEVEL OF LAKE THURMOND WAS 4.19 FEET BELOW AVERAGE AND THE
LEVEL OF LAKE RUSSELL WAS 0.07 FEET ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF
YEAR. THE LEVEL OF LAKE WATEREE WAS 0.74 FEET ABOVE THE 97.0 FOOT
TARGET LEVEL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.

DATA FOR THIS SEGMENT WAS GATHERED FROM THE UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY...THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS
AND DUKE ENERGY.

                    ...CLIMATE SUMMARY...

PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 01 2013 THROUGH MARCH 27 2013

STATION   PRECIPITATION     DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL   PERCENT OF NORMAL

COLUMBIA SC   10.31 INCHES   MINUS   0.15 INCHES     99 PERCENT
AUGUSTA  GA   12.56 INCHES   PLUS    1.05 INCHES    109 PERCENT
ORANGEBURG SC 10.94 INCHES   MINUS   0.12 INCHES     99 PERCENT

              ...PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...

NEAR TERM...SEE THE ZONE AND GRIDDED FORECASTS FOR THE CHANCE OF
RAIN OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS AT WEATHER.GOV/CAE.

                  ...8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK...

THE 8 TO 14 DAY TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FROM APRIL 04 2013 TO APRIL 10
2013 CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

THE 8 TO 14 DAY PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FROM APRIL 04 2013 TO APRIL
10 2013 CALLS FOR A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

                   ...MONTHLY OUTLOOK...

THE TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FOR APRIL 2013 CALLS FOR A 33 PERCENT
CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND GEORGIA.

THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR APRIL 2013 CALL FOR A 33 TO 40 PERCENT
CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND GEORGIA...EXCEPT FOR THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF GEORGIA AND FAR
NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA WHERE THERE IS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF
ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

                 ...THREE MONTHLY OUTLOOK...

THE THREE MONTH TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FOR APRIL...MAY AND JUNE OF
2013 CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

THE THREE MONTH PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR APRIL...MAY AND
JUNE OF 2013 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA EXCEPT
FAR SOUTHERN GEORGIA WHERE THERE IS A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW
NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

GO TO THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER WEB PAGE AT WWW.CPC.NOAA.GOV IN
LOWER CASE LETTERS FOR MORE DETAILS AND THE LATEST OUTLOOKS.

               ...HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

NEAR TERM OUTLOOKS FAVOR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE
ENTIRE AREA ALONG WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WHICH WILL
MITIGATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS. THE MONTHLY OUTLOOK FOR APRIL
SWINGS TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA WHICH FAVORS DROUGHT.
THE LONGER TERM OUTLOOK INTO THE SUMMER IS MORE UNCERTAIN WITH
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FAVORED.

AS A RESULT...LOOK FOR CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS
ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA INTO EARLY APRIL 2013.

THE NEXT UPDATE OF THIS DROUGHT STATEMENT WILL BE THURSDAY APRIL
18 2013 UNLESS THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.

                      ...RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT DROUGHT MAY BE FOUND AT THE
FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.GOV/DROUGHT
NWS COLUMBIA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/CAE/DROUGHT.PHP
SC FORESTRY COMMISSION...WWW.STATE.SC.US/FOREST/SCFIRES.HTM

ADDITIONAL RIVER AND LAKE INFORMATION:
NWS...HTTP://WWW.WATER.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS2/INDEX.PHP?WFO=CAE
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/NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...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...DUKE ENERGY 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

$$

LAMBERTY
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
