Rain Improved Drought in the South

The South has seen benefiting the rain over the last two weeks since the drought in recent months. Rain finally returned to the south about 10 days ago, and many areas received a substantial amount of precipitation. Drought conditions have begun to improve for many areas of the South, but the bad news is that the drought is not over. North Carolina through Tennessee and into Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and the Florida Panhandle all saw drought Conditions Improve. Parts of Georgia and Alabama also saw some improvement, but rainfall was not as heavy in many locations, which did not bring a reduction in drought categories. There are four drought categories on the U.S. Drought Monitor, ranging from moderate (lowest drought category) to severe, extreme (highest category).

Below is a map showing an estimate of how much rainfall fell from Nov. 23 through 7 a.m. EST Dec. 7.

Areas in southeastern Texas, southwestern Louisiana, southwestern Georgia and eastern Tennessee saw more than 10 inches of rain in the past two weeks. This was good news for eastern Tennessee, where extreme drought conditions developed into deadly wildfires.

Drought Outlook

The outlook for improving drought conditions in the South is not great. Overall, lower-than-average precipitation is expected across the southern third of the U.S. through February, along with above-average temperatures. When combined with the overall low soil moisture across the region, drought conditions will likely persist, and may develop in additional areas as well.

The above drought outlook from NOAA is based on climate model precipitation forecasts, statistical models, current soil moisture conditions and climatology. It also takes into account typical impacts of La Niña on weather conditions in the winter in the U.S. According to NOAA and based on the current Palmer Drought Severity Index, as of Dec. 3. Northwestern Georgia still needs to receive more than a foot of rainfall over the next four weeks to end its drought conditions. Eastern Alabama into central Georgia, western South Carolina and western North Carolina need 9 to 12 inches of rainfall over the next four weeks. And Tennessee and Alabama need another 3 to 6 inches to end its drought. The next chance of rain will arrive late this weekend and into early next week. Most areas are expected to see less than an inch of rain, although portions of eastern Tennessee and northern Alabama may see just over an inch.

https://weather.com/climate-weather/drought/news/south-rain-drought-improvement-late-november-early-december-2016