RICHMOND, Va. — Despite some rainfall, Virginia’s drought continues. After a brief period of modest improvement, the extreme drought area is expanding for the first time in weeks.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday and based on conditions through Tuesday morning, shows 32% of the state is in moderate drought, 40% is in severe drought, and 26% is in extreme drought. Compared to last week’s figures of 32% moderate, 43% severe, and 23% extreme, 3% of the severe category was upgraded to extreme.
Severe to extreme drought continues across much of the region. It is estimated that 8 to 12 inches of rainfall in the next 30 days are needed to eliminate much of the drought…