The drought status of the Southeast has not changed appreciably over the past several weeks as periodic rainfall has kept the drought from spreading or intensifying. As you can see from last week’s U.S. Drought Monitormap, the core of the drought is still centered over northern Alabama, where rainfall is nearly 20 inches short for the year to date. Drought conditions in the Mid-South range from primarily extreme drought over south-central TN to abnormally dry over north-central KY. There is some good news on the horizon…
The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has issued a new drought outlook that is valid from August-October. The CPC predicts that most of the areas currently in a drought in the eastern U.S. will see conditions improve, especially along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast. While the Mid-South will remain in a drought through the early fall, conditions are expected to improve some. The reason for the improvement lies mainly in the fact that precipitation from August-October is expected to be above normal.
