National Weather Service Text Product Display

Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Columbia, SC
Versions: 1 2 3 4
000
AXUS72 KCAE 251325
DGTCAE

GAC033-073-181-189-245-SCC003-009-011-017-025-027-037-039-055-057-061
-063-065-071-075-079-081-085-161300-

DROUGHT STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
925 AM EDT THU APR 25 2013

...IMPROVEMENT IN DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE MIDLANDS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA...

                        ...SYNOPSIS...

OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS...ENDING ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 24 2013
RAINFALL WAS NEAR NORMAL ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE
CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA. THERE WERE SPOTS WHICH
RECEIVED MORE LOCATED IN CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA WITH 1
TO 2 INCH ABOVE NORMAL AMOUNTS. FURTHER WEST...OVER NORTHERN SOUTH
CAROLINA THERE WERE SPOTS WHERE LESS FELL WITH AMOUNTS TO 1 INCH
BELOW NORMAL AMOUNTS.

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

                  ...SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

THE SOUTH CAROLINA FORESTRY COMMISSION REPORTED ONLY ONE WILD FIRE
REPORTED THIS MORNING IT WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF GEORGETOWN AND
IT WAS UNDER CONTROL.

GO TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA FORESTRY COMMISSION WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.STATE.SC.US/FOREST/ FOR MORE INFORMATION.

SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS ARE IN GOOD CONDITION ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA
AS REPORTED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FOR DATA THROUGH APRIL 21 2013:

SOUTH CAROLINA:

SOILS RANGED FROM 2 PERCENT SHORT...85 PERCENT ADEQUATE AND 13
PERCENT SURPLUS.

GEORGIA:

TOP SOIL RANGED FROM 4 PERCENT SHORT TO 73 PERCENT ADEQUATE AND 23
PERCENT SURPLUS. SUBSOIL MOISTURE RANGED FROM 1 PERCENT VERY SHORT
TO 8 PERCENT SHORT TO 75 PERCENT ADEQUATE TO 16 PERCENT SURPLUS.

MUCH OF THE DROUGHT AREA IN GEORGIA HAS DISSIPATED AND THERE WAS NO
CHANGE IN DROUGHT STATUS IN GEORGIA.

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

                     ...SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS...

THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR VALID ON APRIL 25 2013 FOR DATA
THROUGH APRIL 23 2013 CONTINUES TO SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT ACROSS THE
AREA HOWEVER...MODERATE DROUGHT HOLDS ON OVER WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND A SMALL PART OF THE CENTRAL
SAVANNAH RIVER AREA IN GEORGIA.

MODERATE DROUGHT...D1...COVERS THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF COLUMBIA
COUNTY AND MOST OF RICHMOND COUNTY IN GEORGIA. D1 DROUGHT CONTINUES
ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF EDGEFIELD COUNTY AND MOST
OF AIKEN COUNTY IN WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA. D1 DROUGHT WAS ALSO FOUND
IN NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA COVERING THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF KERSHAW COUNTY...FAR NORTHERN LEE AND DARLINGTON COUNTIES...MOST
OF CHESTERFIELD AND THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF LANCASTER COUNTIES.

ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS...D0 SURROUNDED THE D1 AREAS AND EXTENDED
FROM THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH CAROLINA TO NORTH CAROLINA.  THE AREA WAS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
NORTHEAST GEORGIA ACROSS FAR SOUTHWEST ABBEVILLE COUNTY TO CENTRAL
NEWBERRY COUNTY TO FAR NORTHWEST LANCASTER COUNTY TO NORTH CAROLINA
AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM NORTH CAROLINA ACROSS NORTHWEST HORRY COUNTY
TO CENTRAL MARION COUNTY TO FAR SOUTHERN MARLBORO COUNTY TO CENTRAL
DARLINGTON COUNTY TO NORTHWEST BARNWELL COUNTY BACK INTO EAST
CENTRAL GEORGIA.  D0 INCLUDED THE REST OF THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER
AREA EXCEPT FOR BURKE COUNTY WHICH WAS CLEARED OF DROUGHT.

            ...SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT COMMITTEE...

THE SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT RESPONSE COMMITTEE MET ON WEDNESDAY APRIL
24 2013 AND REMOVED ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA FROM DROUGHT. THE LAST
TIME THIS OCCURRED WAS IN JUNE OF 2010.

              ...GROUND WATER CONDITIONS...

THE GROUND WATER NETWORK MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WAS USED IN THIS REPORT. GROUND WATER LEVELS
SHOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT OVER THE NORTHWEST WHILE WELLS IN THE
EAST AND SOUTH SHOWED SOME DETERIORATION.

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

BAKER CREEK STATE PARK WELL
APRIL       18 2013   42.71 FEET
APRIL       25 2013   42.63 FEET
DIFFERENCE       PLUS  0.08 FEET

BERKELEY COUNTY AIRPORT
APRIL       18 2013   59.62 FEET
APRIL       25 2013   59.68 FEET
DIFFERENCE      MINUS  0.06

CHESTER COUNTY
APRIL       18 2013   93.84 FEET
APRIL       25 2013   93.89 FEET
DIFFERENCE      MINUS  0.05 FEET

                ...RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS...

OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS ENDING ON APRIL 24 2013 THERE WAS BELOW
NORMAL FLOW IN THE PEE DEE AND THE SAVANNAH RIVER BASINS IN SOUTH
CAROLINA WITH THE REST OF THE STATE NOT SHOWING DROUGHT OR DRYNESS.

ON APRIL 25 2013...A SNAPSHOT OF GAGE READINGS SHOWED THAT 43
PERCENT OF ALL RANKED GAGES HAD FLOW IN THE BELOW THE 25 PERCENTILE
RANGE...BETTER THAN THAT REPORTED ON APRIL 18 2013. SELECTED RANKED
GAGES ON APRIL 25 2013 SHOWED 83 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW...A SMALL
DETERIORATION FROM APRIL 18 2013 REPORT.

DATA SOURCE...UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

                 ...RESERVOIRS...

ONLY 2 OF THE 6 RESERVOIRS IN THE TABLE BELOW HAD RISES
OVER THE PAST WEEK WHILE THE REST RECORDED FALLS. LEVELS
ARE DETERMINED BY RESERVOIR OPERATIONS.

LAKE RUSSELL                            LAKE THURMOND
APRIL    18 2013 474.33 FEET              324.88 FEET
APRIL    25 2013 474.73 FEET              324.67 FEET
DIFFERENCE   PLUS  0.40 FEET         MINUS  0.21 FEET

LAKE GREENWOOD                            LAKE MURRAY
APRIL    18 2013 439.08 FEET              358.23 FEET
APRIL    25 2013 439.06 FEET              358.07 FEET
DIFFERENCE   MINUS 0.02 FEET         MINUS  0.16 FEET

LAKE MARION                              LAKE WATEREE
APRIL    18 2013  75.26 FEET               97.32 FEET
APRIL    25 2013  75.33 FEET               96.94 FEET
DIFFERENCE   PLUS  0.07 FEET         MINUS  0.38 FEET

THE LEVEL OF LAKE THURMOND WAS 4.10 FEET BELOW AVERAGE
AND THE LEVEL OF LAKE RUSSELL WAS 0.02 FEET ABOVE AVERAGE
FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE LEVEL OF LAKE WATEREE WAS 0.06
FEET BELOW 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 APRIL 24 2013

COLUMBIA SC    12.90 INCHES    MINUS 0.12 INCHES     99 PERCENT
ORANGEBURG SC  13.40 INCHES    MINUS 0.58 INCHES     96 PERCENT
AUGUSTA  GA    14.74 INCHES    PLUS  0.38 INCHES    103 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.

THE 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM MAY 02 2013 THROUGH MAY 08 2013
CALLS FOR A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
ACROSS ALL OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA...AND A 33 TO 40 PERCENT
CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE EASTERN THREE QUARTERS
OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF GEORGIA. THE REST OF
SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...BELOW OR
NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

THE OUTLOOK FOR MAY 2013 CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR
NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND GEORGIA.

THE OUTLOOK FOR MAY...JUNE AND JULY 2013 CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT
CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND
GEORGIA AND EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL PRECIPITATION
ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.

              ...HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

THE DROUGHT HAS DIMINISHED GREATLY OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS WITH
THE OCCURRENCE OF TIMELY RAINS THIS PAST WINTER AND EARLY SPRING.
WITH MID TERM OUTLOOKS FAVORING ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS
MUCH OF THE AREA AND EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL
PRECIPITATION FOR THE REST OF MAY AND INTO MID SUMMER.  CONTINUED
IMPROVEMENT IN SOIL MOISTURE CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY MAY.

SO LOOK FOR MORE IMPROVEMENT IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS INTO MAY 0F 2013.

THE NEXT DROUGHT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ON THURSDAY MAY 16 2013
UNLESS SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OCCURS.

                      ...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 National Headquarters
