27 counties extreme drought (food, farm, average)

[NC man]

Continued water woes for NC...27 North Carolina Counties Considered in Drought :: WRAL.com (broken link)

[fd46468]

Yeah, and it is really hurting farmers crops around here. I have never seen Corn look so pathetic.. :-(

[cynwldkat]

I also noticed how poorly the corn crops are looking. And so many of those lovely green lawns are now brown. Many of the farmers ponds are so low they look more like mud holes. It's a little scary. Since I'm new to NC I just keep hoping this happens once in awhile and things will turn around. I have read that July and Aug are suppose to be "wet" months. If this is their wet months wonder how dry the other months are going to be?

[fd46468]

No, the wet months are Dec. through April I believe. If you will remember, it was really dry last summer as well. Not quite this dry, but it has been a concern before. This is probably the driest it has ever been though in my recollection.

[mm34b]

Precipitation - While there are no distinct wet and dry seasons in North Carolina, average rainfall does vary around the year. Summer precipitation is normally the greatest, and July is the wettest month. Summer rainfall is also the most variable, occurring mostly in connection with showers and thunderstorms. Daily showers are not uncommon, nor are periods of one to two weeks without rain. Autumn is the driest season, and November the driest month. Precipitation during winter and spring occurs mostly in connection with migratory low pressure storms, which appear with greater regularity and in a more even distribution than summer showers. In southwestern North Carolina, where moist southerly winds are forced upward in passing over the mountain barrier, the annual average is more than 90 inches. This region is the rainiest in the eastern United States. Less than 50 miles to the north, in the valley of the French Broad River, sheltered by mountain ranges on all sides, is the driest point south of Virginia and east of the Mississippi River. Here the average annual precipitation is only 37 inches. East of the Mountains, average annual rainfall ranges mostly between 40 and 55 inches.

NCDC: * National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) *

[cynwldkat]

All very good information...but, is this dry spell uncommon in these parts? And with the heat index right now..it is a bit scary! But as I said, I am new to these parts so this may be not that unusual I guess.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by cynwldkat

All very good information...but, is this dry spell uncommon in these parts? And with the heat index right now..it is a bit scary! But as I said, I am new to these parts so this may be not that unusual I guess.

Yep, the current drought conditions are not normal.

http://www.ncwater.org/drought/graphics/weekly_dm/20070731.pdf (broken link)

[cassy1]

I fear for the farming families, from what I see they are taking a beating. That is one of the charms of NC, the farms spread around and all of the great fresh food at the farmers markets.

Wonder.........if Willie Nelson does farm aid, does any of the local talent and big names ever do any type of concert to help NC farmers?