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Drought Indicator Analysis

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State Drought Indicator Maps: To see drought indicators for the regions defined by the State Drought Management Task Force, click here . 

Brunswick and Mecklenburg Counties Drought Indicator Maps:  Draft drought metrics for basins in and around Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties can be found here.


 Drought indicators are compiled for the state drought management regions, and for smaller geographic entities at a localities request.  The following drought metrics are calculated, and presented in the map below:

  • Precipitation - Precipitation totals are calculated for the water year (from the previous October 1st) and are compared to the normal annual values (indicated in the map legend as "Prcp").
  • Stream Flow - Mean daily stream flows over the previous 7 days are used to determine stream drought condition (indicated in the map legend as "Flow").
  • Groundwater - Current groundwater surface elevation is evaluated against historical normals (indicated in the map legend as "GW").  It is important to note that groundwater levels are measured as feet below the surface, therefore, lower numbers are equivalent to a higher amount of groundwater, and vice-versa.
  • Reservoir Levels - The current level of reservoirs are evaluated against historical normals for some of the state drought regions.
  • Palmer Drought Severity Index - The Palmer Drought Severity Index is a measure of "the relative dryness or wetness effecting water sensitive communities"1, such as agriculture (indicated in the map legend as "PDSI").  The Palmer index is calculated for the previous week by NOAA Climate Prediction Center for various regions in the United States, with 6 different geographical regions inside of the state of Virginia: Eastern Piedmont, Western Piedmont, Northern Virginia, Central Mountain, and Southwestern Mountains.  (Detailed information on the PDSI at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/cdus/palmer_drought/wpdanote.shtml )

Click on one of the drought regions in the map to see detailed drought analysis data:



NORTH RIVER NEAR STOKESVILLE, VANORTH RIVER NEAR BURKETOWN, VAMIDDLE RIVER NEAR GROTTOES, VASOUTH RIVER NEAR WAYNESBORO, VASOUTH RIVER AT HARRISTON, VAS F SHENANDOAH RIVER NEAR LYNNWOOD, VAS F SHENANDOAH RIVER NEAR LURAY, VAS F SHENANDOAH RIVER AT FRONT ROYAL, VAN F SHENANDOAH RIVER AT COOTES STORE, VASMITH CREEK NEAR NEW MARKET, VAN F SHENANDOAH RIVER AT MOUNT JACKSON, VAN F SHENANDOAH RIVER NEAR STRASBURG, VACEDAR CREEK NEAR WINCHESTER, VAPASSAGE CREEK NEAR BUCKTON, VANF SHENANDOAH RIVER AT MOUTHSF SHENANDOAH RIVER AT MOUTHSHENANDOAH RIVER AT MOUTH, WV
  D4
Exceptional 		D3
Extreme 		D2
Severe 		D1
Moderate 		D0
 Abnormally Dry  		Normal  Wet 
 Drought Intensity             


 

Precipitation Summary for the Current Water Year (beginning October 1, 2007)

Accumulated precipitation for the current water year, derived from NOAA satellite 4km x 4km grid measuring data.

Normal Precipitation Summary for the Entire Water Year (values calculated from 1971 to 2000)

Accumulated precipitation for the current water year, derived from NOAA satellite 4km x 4km grid measuring data.

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