Drought conditions expand in Alabama; any rain coming?

Alabama’s dry spell shows no signs of ending any time soon, and drought conditions have continued to expand in the state.

The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, released on Thursday, shows moderate drought conditions taking hold in both north and south Alabama and abnormally dry conditions affecting more than half of the state.

Thursday’s report shows that 13.73 percent of the state is now in drought level D1, or moderate drought, according to the report. That’s an increase from 0 percent last week.

The levels of drought run from D0 (abnormally dry) to D4 (exceptional drought).

Areas in D1 dought include parts of Limestone, Madison, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Madison counties in north and north-central Alabama. Areas in D1 drought in south Alabama include parts of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Coffee, Geneva, Dale and Henry counties and all of Houston and Covington counties.

Areas that are considered abnormally dry also expanded this week from 32.42 percent to 64.05 percent, according to the report. North and south Alabama were the most affected but a chunk of central Alabama was incuded as well.

The Drought Monitor report said drought has expanded in Alabama thanks to a drier-than-normal September and beginning of October along with declining soil moisture. The report added that the lack of rain may reduce Alabama’s peanut crop.

Alabama’s stretch of dry weather looks to continue through much of next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Here is the precipitation outlook for the next seven days from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center:

There is some rain for Alabama included in the seven-day outlook, but not more than an inch.

The map above shows the possibility of up to a quarter inch of rain for parts of the state through the next seven days.

A cold front is expected to move through Alabama on Friday, but it is not expected to bring any rain. It will bring a shot of cooler air for the weekend, however.

According to the weather service another cold front is expected to move through Alabama next Wednesday or Thursday (Oct. 12 and 13), but it was also trending drier in model runs. But forecasters are holding onto hope for some rain with that system.

October is typically Alabama’s driest month.

The next Drought Monitor report will be released on Oct. 13.