Daniel Prince
Drought status hasn't met to update counties' drought statuses yet
Recent rains in Union County have eased the drought conditions that were beginning to be seen in the county and across much of the state. In early December, Union County and 33 other counties in the state were upgraded to incipient drought status, which is the first level of drought, followed by moderate, severe, and extreme. The SC Drought Response Committee made the declaration, stating that concern over wildfires was the primary factor leading to the drought declaration.
While the committee hasn’t met yet to reevaluate the drought status, precipitation maps at drought.gov show that rainfall in Union County over the past 30 days exceeds the average experienced in the county since 1980. The map shows most of the county has seen 150-200% of the normal precipitation for the area. Some parts have seen 200-300% of the average. We’ll soon see if that is enough for the committee to remove Union County from incipient drought or not.