999  
AXUS72 KCAE 191938  
DGTCAE  
 
GAC033-073-181-189-245-SCC003-009-011-017-025-027-037-039-055-057-061  
-063-065-071-075-079-081-085-201200-  
 
DROUGHT STATEMENT  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
230 PM EST THU NOV 19 2009  
 
...RAINS FROM THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IDA ENDED MODERATE AND  
SEVERE DROUGHT IN NORTHEAST AND NORTHERN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA.  
 
SYNOPSIS...  
 
HEAVY RAINS OVER THE TWO WEEKS LED TO IMPROVEMENT IN DROUGHT  
CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHEAST AND NORTHERN CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA.  
NORMAL TO AS MUCH AS 4 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL AMOUNTS FELL ACROSS SOUTH  
CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA DURING THAT TIME PERIOD WITH THE  
HEAVIEST RAINS OCCURRING OVER SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA  
AND OVER THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SOUTH CAROLINA. ONLY NORMAL AMOUNTS  
FELL ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST AND UP INTO NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH  
CAROLINA. HEAVY RAINS ALSO OCCURRED IN THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA  
AND JUST SOUTH OF CHARLOTTE NORTH CAROLINA.  
 
HEAVY RAINS LED TO RIVER FLOODING LAST WEEK ON THE CONGAREE...  
ENOREE...SALUDA...BROAD AND THE PEE DEE RIVERS AS WELL AS THE  
STEVENS CREEK.  
 
EVAPORATION RATES HAVE BEEN RUNNING LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH  
OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS AS WELL AND VEGETATION IS NOW DORMANT ACROSS  
THE AREA. THESE TWO FACTORS WILL DECREASE DEMAND ON SOIL MOISTURE.  
 
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...  
 
NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE DROUGHT DESIGNATION DECLARED BY THE  
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA DROUGHT RESPONSE COMMITTEE SINCE OCTOBER 16  
2009. YORK...CHESTER...FAIRFIELD...LANCASTER...CHESTERFIELD  
KERSHAW ...DARLINGTON...MARLBORO AND DILLON COUNTIES CONTINUE TO BE  
IN INCIPIENT DROUGHT.  
 
THE STATUS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES IN INCIPIENT DROUGHT IN  
OUR AREA CAN BE FOUND BELOW.  
 
FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW... LANCASTER AND CHESTERFIELD COUNTIES ARE IN  
INCIPIENT DROUGHT.  
 
THE LATEST WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES UNDERWAY IN SOUTH CAROLINA  
CAN BE FOUND AT THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES  
WEBSITE AT: WWW.DNR.SC.GOV/PLS/DROUGHT/DROUGHT_RESTRICT ALL IN LOWER  
CASE LETTERS.  
 
SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS...  
 
THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR VALID ON NOVEMBER 19 2009 FOR DATA THROUGH  
NOVEMBER 17 2009 REMOVED SEVERE...D2 AND MODERATE...D1 DROUGHT FROM  
THE AREA. ONLY ABNORMALLY DRY...D0 DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAIN IN  
SOUTH CAROLINA.  
 
D0...ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS COVERED A SMALL PART OF NORTHEAST  
SOUTH CAROLINA INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...MUCH OF  
CHESTERFIELD...ALL OF MARLBORO...MARION...FLORENCE...DARLINGTON  
COUNTIES AND EXTREME EASTERN SUMTER...EXTREME NORTHERN  
WILLIAMSBURG AND THE NORTHEAST HALF OF LEE COUNTY IN SOUTH  
CAROLINA.  
 
THE REST OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN IN  
GEORGIA WERE NOT IN DROUGHT.  
 
GROUND WATER CONDITIONS...  
 
ALL OF THE GROUND WATER NETWORK MAINTAINED BY THE UNITED STATES  
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY USED IN THIS REPORT SHOWED IMPROVEMENT OR NO  
CHANGE SINCE THE LAST REPORT. HOWEVER LEVELS STILL REMAIN IN THE  
BELOW NORMAL TO RECORD LOW RANGE.  
 
A HIGHER NUMBER MEANS A LOWER WATER TABLE AND THEREFORE LESS GROUND  
WATER.  
 
BAKER CREEK STATE PARK WELL BERKELEY COUNTY AIRPORT  
 
NOVEMBER 04 2009 40.62 FEET 60.87 FEET  
NOVEMBER 19 2009 40.40 FEET REC LOW 60.68 FEET 10-24 PCTLE  
DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.22 FEET PLUS 0.19 FEET  
 
JACKSON SC CHESTER COUNTY  
NOVEMBER 04 2009 163.96 FEET 91.78 FEET  
NOVEMBER 19 2009 163.88 FEET REC LOW 91.78 FEET 10-24 PCTLE  
DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.08 FEET NO CHG 0.00 FEET  
 
RIVER AND STREAMFLOW CONDITIONS...  
 
OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS...ENDING ON NOVEMBER 18 2009...AVERAGE OR ABOVE  
AVERAGE FLOW CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED OVER ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA.  
 
A SNAPSHOT OF FLOW OF SELECTED RANKED GAGES ON NOVEMBER 19 2009  
INDICATED FLOWS 175 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW. RANKED GAGES IN SOUTH  
CAROLINA ON NOVEMBER 19 2009 INDICATE HIGHER FLOW THAN THAT REPORTED  
ON NOVEMBER 4 2009 WITH ONLY 9 PERCENT REPORTING BELOW NORMAL  
FLOW...LESS THAT 25 PERCENT OF MEDIAN FLOW. OVER 50 PERCENT  
REPORTED GREATER THAN NORMAL FLOW...75 PERCENTILE OR GREATER FLOW.  
 
RESERVOIRS...  
 
LEVELS ON SELECTED RESERVOIRS HAVE RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY EXCEPT LAKE  
WATEREE SINCE NOVEMBER 4 2009.  
 
LAKE RUSSELL LAKE THURMOND  
NOVEMBER 18 2009 472.91 FEET 330.29 FEET  
NOVEMBER 04 2009 472.35 FEET 328.17 FEET  
DIFFERENCE PLUS 0.56 FEET PLUS 2.12 FEET  
 
LAKE GREENWOOD LAKE MURRAY  
NOVEMBER 19 2009 98.73 FEET 357.45 FEET  
NOVEMBER 04 2009 97.14 FEET 357.05 FEET  
DIFFERENCE PLUS 1.59 FEET PLUS 0.40 FEET  
 
LAKE MARION LAKE WATEREE  
NOVEMBER 19 2009 76.37 FEET 96.31 FEET  
NOVEMBER 04 2009 73.78 FEET 97.16 FEET  
DIFFERENCE PLUS 2.59 FEET MINUS 0.85 FEET  
 
THE LEVEL ON LAKE THURMOND IS NOW 5.4 FEET ABOVE NORMAL AND THE  
LEVEL OF LAKE RUSSELL IS NOW 0.6 FEET BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF  
YEAR. LAKE WATEREE IS 1.5 FEET ABOVE THE TARGET LEVEL OF 95.7 FOR  
THIS TIME OF YEAR.  
 
DATA FOR THIS SEGMENT WAS GATHERED FROM THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL  
SURVEY...THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS AND DUKE ENERGY.  
 
CLIMATE SUMMARY...  
 
PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 01 2009 THROUGH NOVEMBER 18 2009  
 
STATION PRECIPITATION DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL PERCENT OF NORMAL  
 
COLUMBIA SC 44.48 INCHES PLUS 0.79 INCHES 102 PERCENT  
AUGUSTA GA 40.60 INCHES PLUS 0.22 INCHES 101 PERCENT  
 
PRECIPITATION FROM NOVEMBER 01 TO NOVEMBER 18 2009  
 
COLUMBIA SC 3.09 INCHES PLUS 1.41 INCHES 184 PERCENT  
AUGUSTA GA 4.60 INCHES PLUS 2.98 INCHES 284 PERCENT  
 
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK...  
 
CURRENT FORECAST OUT TO 7 DAYS...  
 
PROGRESSIVE FLOW ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES WILL BRING A  
GOOD RAIN MAKER TO THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES THIS WEEKEND.  
POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR OVER ONE INCH RAINS MAINLY THIS SUNDAY.  
IT SHOULD BE DRY AFTER THAT FROM TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.  
 
THE 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM NOVEMBER 24 TO NOVEMBER 28 2009  
CALLS FOR A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND  
A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS BOTH  
SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.  
 
THE 8 TO 14 DAY OUTLOOK VALID FROM NOVEMBER 26 TO DECEMBER 02 2009  
CALLS FOR A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS  
ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. THERE IS A 40 TO 50 PERCENT  
CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CAROLINA  
AND GEORGIA.  
 
THE OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER 2009 CALLS FOR AN EQUAL CHANCE OF  
ABOVE...BELOW OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS ALL OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH  
CAROLINA.  
 
THERE IS A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS  
THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. THERE IS A AN  
EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS  
THE NORTHWEST HALF OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.  
 
THE 3 MONTH OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER 2009 AND JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2010  
CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURE ACROSS ALL  
OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.  
 
THERE IS A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS  
THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA...EQUAL CHANCES OF  
ABOVE...NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE CENTRAL  
THIRD OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA AND A 33 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW  
NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTHWEST THIRD OF SOUTH CAROLINA  
AND GEORGIA.  
 
HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...  
 
MEDIUM RANGE OUTLOOKS GENERALLY FAVOR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION AND  
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE  
CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA.  
 
LONGER RANGE OUTLOOKS ARE MORE UNCERTAIN BUT AT LEAST NORMAL  
PRECIPITATION CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF SOUTH  
CAROLINA AND GEORGIA..  
 
THESE OUTLOOKS COMBINED WITH LOW EVAPORATION RATES AND DORMANT  
VEGETATION FAVOR CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT AREA.  
 
THE SEVERE AND MODERATE DROUGHT HAS ENDED SO THIS WILL BE THE LAST  
DROUGHT STATEMENT FOR THIS DRY EVENT.  
 
RELATED WEB SITES...  
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT DROUGHT MAY BE FOUND AT THE  
FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:  
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML  
NOAA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.NOAA.GOV  
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CLIMATOLOGIST... HTTP://WWW.DNR.SC.GOV/CLIMATE  
/SCO  
NWS COLUMBIA DROUGHT PAGE...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/CAE/DROUGHT.PHP  
 
ADDITIONAL RIVER AND LAKE INFORMATION:  
NWS...HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AHPS  
USACE...HTTP:/WATER.SAS.USACE.ARMY.MIL/HOME  
USGS...HTTP://WWW.USGS.GOV  
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...  
 
THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING  
NOAA/NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA  
CENTER...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CENTER CLIMATOLOGISTS AND THE  
NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT  
HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM NWS AND FAA OBSERVATION SITES...STATE  
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE...THE USDA...USACE AND THE USGS.  
 
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS...  
 
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT STATEMENT  
PLEASE CONTACT...  
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  
2909 AVIATION WAY  
WEST COLUMBIA SC 29170  
PHONE: 803-822-8135  
INTERNET ADDRESS W-CAE.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV  
 

 
 
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