Recent rains lower Burke's drought designation from "Extreme" to "Severe"

Drought conditions for most of Burke County have been downgraded from “Extreme” to “Severe,” but mandatory water restrictions remain in place, and experts warn recovery from drought takes months, not days.

The severe drought designation was announced around noon on Thursday when the Drought Management Advisory Council updated its assessment of the entire state to reflect the rains which fell over the previous week.

Certainly, Burke County is in better shape water wise than it was a week ago, with most areas of the county receiving between 4 and 7 inches of rain between May 21 and 27.

A strong thunderstorm swept across much of Burke County on the late afternoon of May 21, dumping more than an inch of rain in many locations. Heavy rains also drenched the area on the night of Sunday, May 24.

Foothills Weather Network reports that the Foothills Regional Airport received 6.41 inches of rain while downtown Glen Alpine received 5.15 inches of rain. Other county residents reported receiving just over 7 inches of rain at their residences.

Bearwallow Mountain, located south of Asheville in Henderson County, received just under 10 inches of rain during the period and both Bat Cave and Chimney Rock reported flash flooding.

The rains served to raise the level of Lake James from 96.4 feet to 97.8 feet but Duke Energy reports that the desired lake level for this season of the year is 98.5 feet.

Morganton Water Resources Director said, “Even though we received rainfall over the last few days that seems like a significant amount, we are currently still in Stage 2 Drought and conservation efforts are still intact.”

“We are going to need almost twice the normal amount of rainfall per week for a few months to declare the drought ended,” said Corey Peele, a scientist with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

Under Severe Drought restrictions, residents are asked to:

• Limit the amount of water used on your lawn and landscaping. Only water between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• Outdoor use of drinking water for washing impervious surfaces (such as driveways and sidewalks) is prohibited.

IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE

Ironically, even though the heavy rains were not enough to break the drought, they did leave some agricultural areas of the county underwater at midweek.

“We do still have some low lying areas with corn and soy beans that are still under water,” reported Damon Pollard with the Burke Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension. “So we need to dry out a bit.”

Pollard that the rain was a welcome sight for farmers across the county, noting that much of the rain fell at a slow, easy pace, which allowed much of it to soak into the soil and improve soil moisture levels considerably.

“The rain came at an especially good time for pastures and hayfields,” Pollard added.

Tanner Collier, also with the Cooperative Extension, said the rain was especially good news for greenhouse owners, those raising vegetables, and for those with tree nurseries.

“It’s good to see the plants coming back and everything looking green again,” Collier said. “We just have to hope that we don’t get back into a sustained dry spell after this bit of rain.

THE WEATHER OUTLOOK

Morganton meteorologist Jason Prichard noted that a big flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was responsible for last week’s drenching but that the flow is now breaking down.

“Last week was an anomaly,” he said. “Far more rain than we usually receive in a late-spring, early-summer week. I think we will be drier this week, with more hit and miss showers, but I don’t see a return to weeks of no rain whatsoever.”

The impact of El Nino, which normally produces wet conditions for the Southeast, should continue to be felt throughout the summer and into the autumn.