The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows the entirety of Virginia is experiencing some level of drought conditions right now. The majority of the state is classified as “severe drought” with the greatest deficits in the counties along the North Carolina border.
The precipitation amounts over the last two months are less than half of what is normal for this time of year. The lack of rain is impacting Virginia’s agricultural industry and farmers’ planting timelines.
Michael Duttter, a science and operations officer at the National Weather Service Wakefield office, said Richmond only saw 0.97″ of rain for April, which is the sixth driest April on record. Richmond saw only 2.69″ of rain in March and April, making it the fourth driest March and April on record for the state’s capital city.
Even with the rain parts of the commonwealth experienced last week, drought conditions aren’t expected to change unless a period of sustained rain shows up in the forecast soon. The Department of Environmental Quality reports that out of the 201 stream gauges with continuous flow data, 60 were setting record daily lows as of April 28…