It’s no surprise to gardeners who have been battling
mud, but for the first time in more than two years, Watauga County
is officially out of its drought.
Today’s federal drought map shows that widespread rainfall
in recent weeks brought improvements throughout North Carolina,
most notably in 14 mountain counties that had been the state’s
only area experiencing drought.
An end to area drought is
certainly welcome news to farmers and visitors at the
Watauga County Farmers Market. From left, Genevieve Powell,
3, gets a closer look at the flowers as she is held by
Molly Gilleskie, 11, while Drake Powell, 9, looks on while
visiting the market on Saturday. Photo by Mark
Mitchell
Watauga County remains among the 53 counties on opposite ends
of the state that remain abnormally dry, which means an area could
return to drought without adequate rainfall.
Officials still urged caution and encouraged water conservation,
since drought could return, and water tables still remain low
in many areas.
“Certainly, we’re encouraged by the rainfall we’ve
seen recently,” said Dee Freeman, secretary of the N.C. Department
of Environment and Natural Resources. “But it’s safe
to say we’re cautiously optimistic about what this means
for the weeks and months ahead. There’s no reason people
should not try to conserve water whenever possible.
“In the abnormally dry areas, a number of water table wells
are below normal levels for this time of year. There is still
the possibility that dry conditions can return, and we could have
impacts from drought this summer.”
The drought of 2007-08 was the worst in North Carolina since recordkeeping
began on the subject in 1895.
The drought was first designated on Feb. 13, 2007, creeping from
the mountains to the coast as a lack of rainfall depleted streamflows
and reservoirs to record low levels.
In recent months, above average rainfall amounts have helped move
much of North Carolina from a drought.
That rainfall has created widespread improvements.
Forty-seven North Carolina counties – up from 36 counties
last week – are facing normal conditions for this time of
year, according to Thursday’s drought map.
Statewide, 3.94 million people, or 55 percent of the people who
receive water from systems the N.C. Division of Water Resources
tracks, are under mandatory or voluntary water use restrictions,
including the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock.
The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council’s weekly map
is available at www.ncdrought.org.
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