The drought is still with us and in parts of Central, North and Northeast Alabama, it is still rated as “Exceptional” That is the worst rating of any.
I wish all weather-related problems like hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts were numbered 1 through 5. Why do we have an EF zero tornado? Our hurricanes are rated 1 through 5.
Won’t be long before the drought numbers will be household terms like tornadoes and hurricanes. The thought is horrible.
There is good news for a small part of the state, the extreme SW where there is no longer any mention of drought—not even the 0 or 1 rating.
The outlook is for a pretty good chance of showers and thunderstorms across Central Alabama by midweek. It is not sealed in stone, but some communities might even get an inch or more of rain before the week is out.
It is interesting to note that the frequency of showers picked up somewhat in July and August, but slackened off greatly so far in September. At Birmingham Airport, measurable rain occurred on 14 days in July for a total of 3.43 inches. During August, there was measurable rain on 11 days for a total of 4.88 inches. That means the month of August was actually a little wetter than normal. However, 2 inches of that rain fell in about an hour on August 25 and was rather localized. A lot of it was runoff and did not have time to soak in.
There are a lot of ways to look at a drought. We have problems with soil moisture, water tables, crops, reservoir levels, lawns and gardens just to name a few. And, yes, water bills.
During a severe drought, there are a lot of different interests that yearn for rain.
One day, this will all be past and we will all be longing for dry weather! Such is life. Such is human nature.
Life goes on…and on…
