Drought conditions worsen in Alabama: Is relief coming?
Alabama has gotten some rain in the past few days, but hasn’t affected this week’s report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
That’s because information for the report was compiled up until Tuesday, so it missed some of the rain the state received in the past few days.
More scattered rain is in the forecast, but likely not the kind that could be a drought buster in the hardest-hit areas.
This week’s report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, which covers the period from Oct. 9 through Nov. 5, shows drought conditions worsened in the state.
Several areas have been upgraded to a Level 3 out of 4 drought. Those include areas in west and north Alabama.
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According to this week’s report 100 percent of Alabama is either in drought or on the verge of drought. Of the areas in drought:
* 1.87 percent of Alabama is now in Level 3 (extreme) drought, an increase from 0 percent last week.
* 29.99 percent of the state is in Level 2 (severe drought), an increase from 16.98 percent last week.
* 83.48 percent of the state is in Level 1 or moderate drought, an increase from 72.91 percent last week.
More rain is in the forecast, however. The seven-day precipitation outlook from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center suggests that most of the state will get at least some rain in the next week:
Here is the outlook for precipitation over the next seven days. Alabama is expected to get some rain, at least.Weather Prediction Center
Northwest Alabama could get the most if this forecast verifies.
Looking further into the future hold some promise of more rain in the next few weeks. Here is the six- to 10-day precipitation outlook from the Climate Prediction Center, and it shows slightly elevated chances that Alabama will get above-average rainfall from Nov. 12-16:
There is expected to be a 33 to 40 percent probability of Alabama getting above-average rainfall from Nov. 12-16.Climate Prediction Center
The eight- to 14-day outlook suggests near-normal rainfall will be possible in Alabama through Nov. 20, with slightly higher chances of above-average precipitation in northwest Alabama:
Near normal rainfall is expected in Alabama from Nov. 14-20.Climate Prediction Center
Things could dry out some closer to the end of the month. The 3-4 week outlook shows drier conditions favored for Alabama from Nov. 16-29. Northwest Alabama has equal chances of above- or below-average rainfall, but the rest of the state has slightly increased chances of below-average precipitation:
Below-average precipitation is favored for parts of Alabama from Nov. 16-29.Climate Prediction Center
The next Drought Monitor report will be released on Nov. 14.