For previously issued drought statements see the archived status reports.
Table of all counties and drought status.The S.C. Drought Response Committee removes drought declaration for all South Carolina counties.
For the first time since August 2006 no area of the State is under a drought declaration. Increased rainfall frequency and coverage over the last six months have alleviated the drought conditions statewide. Today all 19 Upstate counties were removed from drought by the South Carolina Drought Response Committee. On April 15 the Committee lifted the drought declaration for the remaining 27 counties.
According to Hope Mizzell, SC State Climatologist, "The timing, amount and duration of the rainfall have brought all drought indicators back to normal levels. Many stations report above normal rainfall since January (see table below)."
According to DNR hydrologist Masaaki Kiuchi all regularly monitored streams show no drought and lake levels around South Carolina are normal except in the Savannah River Basin which is slightly below normal. Upstate wells show improvement and water levels are rising in most monitoring wells. However, groundwater levels in some areas of the Upstate may not be sufficient to adequately support streamflows if rainfall declines.
"Every region of the State has been impacted by this drought," says Ken Rentiers, Chairman of the SC Drought Response Committee. "The return to a normal rainfall pattern brings welcome relief."
The Committee recommends that the public continue to use water wisely.
"Even though we have overcome the rainfall deficit associated with the drought, we are still dealing with some of the long-term drought effects. Several of the upper Savannah reservoirs remain below full pool. We encourage residents of the northwestern areas of the Upstate to continue to voluntarily conserve our water resources. If we have learned anything over the past several years of dealing with drought, it is that no one should waste water," urged Dennis Chastain, a member of the West Drought Committee.Station | Year to Date Rainfall Total | Percent of Normal |
---|---|---|
Gaffney | 27.09" | 119% |
Long Creek | 34.07" | 115 |
Anderson | 25.28" | 115% |
Greenville-Spartanburg | 23.09" | 99% |
Chester | 22.4" | 105% |
Saluda | 23.46" | 107% |
Sumter | 20.61" | 100% |
Orangeburg | 22.17" | 109% |
Charleston | 19.29" | 100% |
Contact South Carolina State Climatologist Dr.Hope Mizzell in Columbia at (803) 734-9568 or e-mail at mizzellh@dnr.sc.gov for more information.
DNR protects and manages South Carolina's natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state's natural resources and its people. Find out more about DNR at the DNR Web site.
Current Drought Status by County | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Normal | Incipient | Moderate | Severe | Extreme |
County Status |
County Status |
County Status |
County Status |
County Status |
ABBEVILLE Normal |
AIKEN Normal |
ALLENDALE Normal |
ANDERSON Normal |
BAMBERG Normal |
BARNWELL Normal |
BEAUFORT Normal |
BERKELEY Normal |
CALHOUN Normal |
CHARLESTON Normal |
CHEROKEE Normal |
CHESTER Normal |
CHESTERFIELD Normal |
CLARENDON Normal |
COLLETON Normal |
DARLINGTON Normal |
DILLON Normal |
DORCHESTER Normal |
EDGEFIELD Normal |
FAIRFIELD Normal |
FLORENCE Normal |
GEORGETOWN Normal |
GREENVILLE Normal |
GREENWOOD Normal |
HAMPTON Normal |
HORRY Normal |
JASPER Normal |
KERSHAW Normal |
LANCASTER Normal |
LAURENS Normal |
LEE Normal |
LEXINGTON Normal |
MARION Normal |
MARLBORO Normal |
MCCORMICK Normal |
NEWBERRY Normal |
OCONEE Normal |
ORANGEBURG Normal |
PICKENS Normal |
RICHLAND Normal |
SALUDA Normal |
SPARTANBURG Normal |
SUMTER Normal |
UNION Normal |
WILLIAMSBURG Normal |
YORK Normal |
SC Drought Response Committee Meeting, June 10, 2009 Sign-In sheet | |
---|---|
Name & Agency | Name & Agency |
Reg Williams Farm Bureau F Pickens Williams, Jr. Administrator Barnwell County Dennis Chastain Domestic User Representative Vernon Osteen Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC Warren Harris Town of Salem J. Scott Willett Anderson Joint Regional Brenda H. Nettles Soil and Water Conservation District Chris Bickley, Jr. Lowcountry Council of Gov. Steve Hammond Duke Energy John W. Westcott Spartanburg Water System James Witkowski International Paper, Inc. Brian Burgess Saluda Water & Sewer Authority Mike Caston SJWD Water District Norman Whitaker Regional Council of Gov. Joseph Johnson Agriculture Representative Keith Griffin Springs Industry, Inc. William Taylor City of Cheraw |
Stuart Ames Progress Energy Elbert Warren Public Service District Theron DeWitt Soil and Water Conservation District Michael E. Hancock Lugoff-Elgin Water Authority Fred H. Boatwright City of Orangeburg Ronald E. Mitchum Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments Ken Rentiers DNR David Baize SCDHEC David Tompkins SC Department of Agriculture Darryl Jones SC Forestry Commission Francis Tubolino SC Emergency Management Division Steve de Kozlowski DNR Greg Lamberty National Weather Service Doug Young Upstate Citizen David Merryman Catawba River Keepers |
Find out more about the State Climatology Office at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/ or by calling (803) 734-9100.