Drought

Peanuts in Santa Rosa County were hard to dig up because the soil was so dry. The farmer reported that it was difficult to get the blades into the ground to pull the peanuts up. Cotton in the region was also suffering from the hot, dry weather. Pensacola News Journal (Fla.), Sept. 23, 2019

Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia issued a ban on most outdoor burning, due to drought. Some communities in the state were also dealing with low water supplies. Macon Telegraph (Ga.), Sept. 20, 2019 West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice amended the outdoor burn ban to allow some fires at federal and state recreation areas after officials with the state’s Division of Forestry and Division of Natural Resources made the request. Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 24, 2019

Water in Frankfort was safe to drink, despite concerns about taste and odor. The Kentucky River was flowing slowly, due to drought, and was at 6.7 feet on Sept. 19 at the Frankfort lock. The Frankfort water provider initially posted about the aesthetics of the water on Facebook on Sept. 12. Kentucky American Water, supplying water to other cities in central Kentucky, also described an unpleasant taste and odor to the water on its Facebook page. The State-Journal (Frankfort, Ky.), Sept. 19, 2019

White, Cleveland and Faulkner counties were among the 22 counties in Arkansas with burn bans. A spate of grass fires in White County prompted a judge to issue the ban as strong winds, poor rainfall and low humidity increased the fire danger. thedailycitizen.com (Searcy, Ark.), Sept. 18, 2019

Heat and drought have increased the fire danger the length of the Natchez Trace Parkway, extending from southwest Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. While there were no fire restrictions on park lands, visitors were urged to be particularly careful with fire. Hohenwald-Lewis County Herald (Tenn.), Sept. 19, 2019

A burn ban was issued for Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, due to dry environmental conditions and concern about wildfires. WBIR-TV Knoxville (Tenn.), Sept. 20, 2019

Seeding of pastures and hayfields was on hold in Franklin County because more rain was needed for planting. Hemp and late tobacco have been irrigated for several weeks. Cattle were getting short on grass because the lack of rain kept it from growing back, and some producers were already feeding hay and even selling cattle. The State-Journal (Frankfort, Ky.), Sept. 18, 2019

Pastures were dry in Far West Texas, and livestock received supplemental feed. Fires sparked easily. The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 17, 2019

Some rain fell in East Texas, but it was not sufficient to promote the growth of pastures and hay fields. Most counties had burn bans. The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 17, 2019

Late planted Christmas tree seedlings in Haywood County needed irrigation and have been affected by drought. my40.tv (Greenville, S.C.), Sept. 18, 2019

Some crops in the Fairmont area have been affected by the hot, dry weather, but not so much as if the harsh weather had occurred earlier in the growing season. WDTV-TV CBS 5 (Clarksburg, W.V.), Sept. 19, 2019

The absence of rain for more than a month allowed O’Brien Lake in the southern part of Jackson County to become depleted. Apart from drought, the water treatment center has a major leak, which will be repaired in coming weeks. WSAZ-TV NBC 3 (Huntington, W.V.), Sept. 19, 2019

Heat and dry weather have hurt agriculture and livestock across Kentucky. Pasture conditions were deteriorating and some farm ponds were drying up. Some producers in the southeast have sold cattle out of concern for hay supplies through the winter. Hay feeding began two months early. Farmers markets in the southeast part of the state appeared to be on track to end in the next week or two, although they normally remain open through October. WEKU/WEKH/WEKF NPR & Classical Music (Richmond, Ky.), Sept. 13, 2019

The Amazing Maize Maze in Huntersville will not open this year. The new strain of corn the maze owner tried failed to grow. The corn was replanted in August, but conditions were too dry for the seed to germinate and produce a crop to make the usual maze. The farm seeks monetary donations. K1047 (Charlotte, N.C.), Sept. 17, 2019

Trees in the Louisville area had yellow and brown leaves and canopies that had a half to a third of the leaves as normal. Some degree of tree mortality is expected after the dry summer. WAVE-TV NBC 3 Louisville (Ky.), Sept. 17, 2019

Many trees in southern West Virginia were losing leaves early, due to the dry, warm weather. WVMetroNews (Charleston, W.V.), Sept. 18, 2019

The Mississippi Forestry Commission approved a request from the Adams County Board of Supervisors for a countywide burn ban. The reasons for the burn ban were an uptick in wildfire activity, heightened drought conditions, dry vegetation and forecasted weather patterns. MS News Now (Jackson, Miss.), Sept. 18, 2019

Temporary burn bans were enacted for the cities of Sevierville and Gatlinburg as dry conditions made outdoor burning very hazardous. Sevier County was on high alert for open burning, but burning was not banned. WATE-TV ABC 6 Knoxville (Tenn.), Sept. 17, 2019

Dry weather prompted officials in Spring Hill to issue a mandatory ban on outdoor burning, including the use of fire pits, until considerable rain falls to ease the fire danger. Spring Hill’s water storage tanks were also low after 58 days without rain, leading officials to prohibit the use of irrigation systems, due to difficulty maintaining water capacity. Nolensville also banned outdoor burning. Nashville Tennessean (Tenn.), Sept. 19, 2019

The Rutherford Fire Department announced a countywide burn ban on Sept. 16, due to the hot, dry weather and heightened fire danger. Murfreesboro Daily News Journal (Tenn.), Sept. 18, 2019