The Latest On Our Drought Situation

The latest US Drought Monitor indicates that extreme drought conditions persist within a narrow band extending from southern Tuscaloosa County into northern Bibb County and across northern Shelby County and far southern Jefferson County into far southern St. Clair County and extreme northwest Talladega County.

Severe drought conditions exist along and right of a line from much of Dekalb County southwest through south-central Marshall County into southeastern Cullman County further southwest across south-central Walker County and into southern Fayette County and across far southeast Lamar County and including much of Pickens County then east across northern Greene County, northern Hale County, north-central Bibb County northeast into south-central Shelby County east across southern Talladega County and east into southern Clay County and into southern Randolph County.

Most remaining areas in Central Alabama are still indicated to be in moderate drought or abnormally dry except for most of Montgomery, Macon and Bullock counties, which are no longer in drought.

The Drought Monitor classifies drought within one of these five categories:

D0…Abnormally dry
D1…Moderate drought
D2…Severe drought
D3…Extreme drought
D4…Exceptional drought

Climate summary
Rainfall during the past week was moderate to heavy and was beneficial in reducing the ongoing drought situation. This provided a rise in stream flows, however, more rainfall is needed to maintain near normal levels.

Some precipitation amounts (inches) for Central Alabama January 1st through January 18th…

Birmingham… 6.71
Montgomery… 10.86
Anniston… 7.55
Tuscaloosa… 7.20
Calera… 6.94
Troy… 13.38

Normal precipitation expected (inches) and departure from normal (inches) January 1st through January 18th…

Birmingham… 3.85 (+2.86)
Montgomery… 3.62 (+7.24)
Anniston… 3.54 (+4.01)
Tuscaloosa… 4.17 (+3.03)
Calera… 4.18 (+2.76)
Troy… 3.56 (+9.82)

Agricultural Impacts
The last USDA report issued November 28th indicated that agricultural interests had been significantly impacted by the drought with some ponds and streams reported to be drying up. At that time cattle producers were supplementing livestock with hay, feed supplements and water hauled from elsewhere. Many farmers were unable to plant winter crops due to the drought. Recently, many small streams and ponds used for cattle have seen levels increase due to the recent rainfall that has occurred.

Fire Danger Impacts
The fire danger risk is lower across Central Alabama than during the peak of the drought due to recent rainfall. Keetch-Byram Drought Indices (KBDI) currently range from less than 100 to 200 across most of Central Alabama. Values above 500 indicate a severe fire danger.

While the statewide burn ban has been rescinded, there remains concern that many pine trees could still die due to the drought that has plagued the state. The state forester continues to urge people that are doing any outside burning to follow safety precautions such as not leaving any fire unattended and having the proper equipment and personnel to control the fire. This in based on information from the Alabama Forestry Commission.

Hydrologic Summary And Outlook
The latest USGS stream gauge data indicates that stream flows continue to run below or much below normal across most of Central Alabama for this time of year. Periodic rainfall will need to occur for stream flows to return to normal or better levels.

Most major reservoir pool levels have remained fairly steady during the past week and remain near their normal winter levels. Listed below are current levels for some of the major reservoirs across Central Alabama and those from January 12th:

Weiss… 567.0 current / 559.0 previous
Neely Henry… 508.0 current / 506.8
Logan Martin… 467.0 current / 460.0
Lay… 396.0 current / 395.8
Mitchell… 312.0 current / 311.7
Jordan… 252.0 current / 251.6
R.L. Harris… 793.0 current / 785.1
Martin… 490.0 current / 483.0
Smith… 510.0 current / 498.4
Bankhead… 189.0 current / 254.7
Holt… 140.0 current / 186.7

Social Impacts
Pools are near their normal winter levels at most major reservoirs and have generally increased during the past week. Voluntary and mandatory water restrictions are still in effect in some areas. However, more water boards have lifted restrictions during the past couple of weeks.

Precipitation And Temperature Outlook
Continued rain chances will help to further reduce the ongoing drought. The seasonal drought outlook calls for the drought to persist but for conditions to gradually improve from now through the month of April.

The climate prediction center short range outlooks for the next month generally call for near normal precipitation and slightly above normal temperatures across much of the state. A similar trend is depicted in the outlook into the early spring.

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