As wildfire season nears, all but one of North Carolina’s 100 counties are experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions as wildfire season looms, according to the latest advisory from the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.
Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties are classified as experiencing severe drought, the Thursday advisory states.
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Moderate drought conditions are in 58 counties, while another 36 counties are classified as abnormally dry, according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality release.
“The good news is that these persistent drought and dry conditions have occurred over the winter, when water demands are lower,” Klaus Albertin, advisory committee chair, said in the release. “Farmers have seen some pasture and winter grain impacts, but it’s not the main growing season, so impacts were limited. Water supply reservoirs have been able to manage their levels and are at targets for this time of year. The deficits could set up a challenging spring if the pattern doesn’t change.”
Areas of the state have been experiencing drought conditions since mid-October. Between that month and February, the statewide average rainfall deficit was 6.64 inches according to information provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
“We’ve only had a few weeks that have met or exceeded average rainfall expectations since October,” Albertin said. “As a result, we’ve been slowly building a large deficit. It was somewhat expected because of the La Niña weather pattern.”
The North Carolina Forest Service urges North Carolinians to use common sense and best practices with outdoor fires, particularly for burning yard debris. North Carolina’s wildfire season kicks off in the spring, the first official day of which is March 20.
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Opening burning in the state is allowed only in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials, including leaves, limbs and yard debris.
Members of the drought management advisory council meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The council’s drought map is updated each Thursday based on conditions through the previous Tuesday.
For additional information visit https://www.ncdrought.org/education.
