Drought

A fire restriction took effect for Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest in the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District. It is prohibited to build, maintain, attend or use a wood or charcoal fire or campfire on all National Forest lands, roads and within the bounds of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Firefighting is more complicated in Dolly Sods because it is a known unexploded ordinance area, further hampering firefighting tactics and endangering the welfare of the public and emergency responders. Bluefield Daily Telegraph (W.V.), Sept 17, 2024

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District was encouraging boat owners to plan to remove boats from Atwood Lake due to falling water levels due to drought. The lake was about a foot and a half below normal. Water sales at Atwood were reduced 75 percent just over two weeks ago, and then 100 percent as of last week. “People that have been here a lot longer than I have said this is very close or akin to the 1988 drought,” stated the MWCD director. WJER (Dover, Ohio), Sept 17, 2024

An open burn emergency took effect in unincorporated Vanderburgh County on Aug. 29. On Sept. 6, the ban was extended to Sept. 24 and also included Evansville. Courier and Press (Evansville, Ind.), Sept. 6, 2024

The six mainstem power plants along the Upper Missouri River generated 912 million kilowatt hours of electricity in August, compared to typical energy generation in August of 1,007 million kWh. The power plants were projected to generate 8.1 billion kWh of electricity in 2024, compared to the long-term average of 9.4 billion kWh. Billings Gazette (Mont.), Sept 11, 2024

A farm that sells produce in Killen closed temporarily due to drought, but would normally stay open through the end of September. The heat and drought took a toll on the pumpkin patch, okra, zucchini, cucumber and spring crops. The farm will reopen the first weekend in October. WHNT News 19 (Huntsville, Ala.), Sept 4, 2024

Organic farmers in Hillsboro were already using their winter hay supply to feed their livestock as pastures dried up. Two streams have run dry. The farmer was praying for rain. Some neighbors who were unable to locate hay or water for their herds were selling cattle. One cut his herd by 18%, while another reduced his herd by 27%. WCPO-TV ABC 9 Cincinnati (Ohio), Sept 5, 2024

Some Tri-State farmers were harvesting crops early after the dry August weather. A Posey County, Indiana farmer noted that parts of fields had dried up and been dead since about June. WFIE-TV NBC 14 Evansville (Ind.), Sept 10, 2024

Drought has affected all aspects of a Boone County farm. Hay fields and pastures were dry, and livestock were being fed hay rather than grazing on grass in the pasture. Hay cuttings have been reduced in the number of rolls of hay produced. The pumpkin patch was growing slowly and not yielding pumpkins as it usually does. Pumpkins will likely have to be purchased from elsewhere. WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati (Ohio), Sept 11, 2024

Drought ruined the sunflowers and the pumpkins at a pumpkin farm near Albany, so the farm will not offer the usual fall festivities this year. The precipitation was adequate through May, but the weather turned very dry. The sunflowers were planted three times, but only weeds grew. The corn didn’t grow either, so there was no corn maze. Some Egyptian grasses and some sorghum-type products that mature quickly were planted at considerable cost with the hope of making a maze from them, but they didn’t grow either. They say this year’s drought is worse than the 1988 drought. A cattle producer thought that the drought had set his livestock operation back four to five years. A well that normally supplies the cattle with cold fresh water has run dry. WOUB Digital (Athens, Ohio), Sept 16, 2024

The level of the Mississippi River is unusually low for a third straight year, forcing barge companies to limit the amount of cargo able to be transported. Just two months ago, much of the Mississippi River was above flood stage north of St. Louis. The river level has dropped steadily in subsequent months. For the week ending August 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Transportation Report showed that 480,750 tons of grain was shipped by barge, a drop of 17% from the previous week. Freight rates were up dramatically. Freight rates from St. Louis were 8% higher than the same time last year and were up 57% compared to the three-year average. Freight rates from Memphis were 10% higher than last year, and 63% higher than the three-year average. The Associated Press, Sept 11, 2024 Barge rates have increased 17-19% at stations along the Mississippi River between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Saint Louis due to low water levels. Barge companies have begun to draw limits on draft and how many vessels can be towed. Bloomberg (New York NY), Sept. 6, 2024.

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin began drought monitoring on September 11 as the river fell below 2,000 cubic feet per second at Point of Rocks, Maryland, which is upriver of Potomac intakes for the Washington Aqueduct, WSSC Water and Fairfax Water. WTOP News (Washington, D.C.), Sept 13, 2024

The Keowee-Toxaway River Basin entered a Stage 1 drought on September 3. The area includes Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee, both of which are below their normal levels, according to Duke’s data. People along the lakes who draw water for irrigation were asked to limit their withdrawals to certain days and to take no more water than is needed. The Keowee-Toxaway Drought Management Advisory Group, a partnership led by Duke Energy, encouraged water conservation across the basin. Greenville News (S.C.), Sept 6, 2024

The S.C. Drought Response Committee changed the drought status for seven counties from incipient to moderate drought, while leaving two counties in incipient drought. Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, McCormick, Oconee and Pickens were in moderate drought. Laurens and Greenwood stayed at the incipient drought level and Aiken went from normal status to incipient drought. The Laurens County Advertiser (S.C.), Sept 4, 2024

Residents of Bellbrook were asked to conserve water as drought has caused the water table to drop swiftly in recent weeks. WHIO-TV Dayton (Ohio), Sept 12, 2024

Apples in a Monroeville orchard were smaller than they ought to be so crews were watering the trees. Pastures near Salem were becoming browner and drier from the lack of rain and need rain for additional grass growth. Farmers are praying for rain. KYW-TV CBS 3 Philadelphia (Pa.), Sept 12, 2024

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declared a drought emergency in Lake County as hot, dry conditions were expected to affect farmers, raise the fire danger and reduce water supplies. "Drought is likely to have a significant economic impact on the agricultural, livestock and natural resources sectors, as well as an impact on fish and wildlife," according to the release from the governor’s office. KDRV-TV ABC 12 (Medford, Ore.), Sept 12, 2024

A pumpkin grower in Madison County put in a lot of extra work irrigating to get a crop of small pumpkins. The corn field has turned brown like it would normally look in November and will be harvested early. The ears were stunted and had fewer kernels than usual. The soybeans will likely yield tiny beans. WCMH-TV NBC 4 (Columbus, Ohio), Sept 12, 2024

The City of Portland issued a water shortage alert on Sept. 6, citing low city lake levels and a lack of rainfall in the area. Portland's raw water supply was nearing emergency status, as of Friday, September 6, according to a Facebook post. The Tennessean (Nashville), Sept 10, 2024

Drought has contributed to an unusually high number of fires with 164 forest and grassland fires in West Virginia since July 1. In the Kanawha County area, there have been 52 fires over the same time. WSAZ-TV NBC 3 (Huntington, W.V.), Sept 3, 2024 July and August are typically the off season for wildfires, but Region 5, which is comprised of Kanawha, Cabell and Putnam counties has had 49 fires since July 1. If the pre-fall fire season is busy, given the drought, then the fall fire season, which begins on October 1, could be extremely active. Across West Virginia, there have been 155 blazes since July 1 with most of them occurring in parts of the state that were particularly dry. The ground is so parched that the fire was burning into the soil. Staffing was an issue for firefighting also. There are about 65 field staff members in all of West Virginia, so volunteer firefighters step in to help, but those local fire departments are also shorthanded. WCHS-TV ABC 8 (Charleston, W.V.), Aug 29, 2024

Clyde, Texas missed a bond payment on Aug. 1 as drought led to a reduction in water sales after customers were asked to conserve water. The community’s bond insurers made the payment. Clyde was dealing with increased costs related to operations and maintenance of its waterworks and wastewater system. The bond rating and the city’s credit rating both were downgraded. Bloomberg, Aug 19, 2024