West Virginia Drought Status

Record-High Drought Extent in West Virginia
The footprint of exceptional and extreme drought expanded across West Virginia again this week, now encompassing 66% of the state, the West Virginia’s highest such coverage in the U.S. Drought Monitor era (since 2000). This breaks down to 15% in exceptional drought, a record high, and 51% in extreme drought. Severe and moderate drought covers the rest of West Virginia, making it the first time since September 2002 the entire state was in drought. The northern half of the state saw little, if any, precipitation during the past week, with the southern half generally seeing less than a quarter inch. This was combined with near- or above-normal temperatures for western and northern parts of the state. For the September 1-17 period, Charleston saw only 0.06 inches of rain, its fifth driest such period, while Beckley received only 0.13 inches, its 10th driest such period. Rainfall deficits for the past 90-day period (June 20 – September 17) range from 4 to 6 inches below normal for Beckley, Charleston, Elkins, and Huntington.

Drought-related impacts also continued across the state. USDA crop reports showed all of West Virginia had topsoil moisture in the very short-short categories for the week ending September 15, the fourth week in a row. The condition of apples, corn, hay, pastures, and soybeans deteriorated this week, with higher percentages of those crops falling into the very poor and poor categories compared to last week. Like the past three weeks, none of these crops were in the good or excellent categories. Streamflow, groundwater levels, and reservoir levels were below normal across much of the state. For instance, Richwood, WV’s backup water source, which it has been utilizing because its primary source is running low, has only a few days’ worth of water left. The drought conditions have enhanced the risk of wildfires, particularly during the state’s fall fire season, prompting several counties including Fayette, Jackson, and Kanawha to issue or formally request burn bans. In addition, some drought-stressed trees are dropping leaves early, potentially affecting fall foliage tourism.

Outlooks from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center for the 6-10- and 8-14-day periods (September 24-October 2) show increased chances for above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for all of West Virginia. Above-normal precipitation may offset increased evapotranspiration rates associated with above-normal temperatures. An elevated risk of wildfires beyond what is typical for fall in West Virginia is predicted for September and October. The NRCC’s full weekly drought update can be found here and drought impacts can be reported here and viewed here.

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