South Carolina Drought Officially Over

The heavy rains during the weekend only help reinforce what the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has already made official:  The drought has officially ended for all of South Carolina. The S.C. Drought Response Committee has downgraded the drought from moderate or incipient drought to no drought in all 22 counties in the state. SC State Climatologist Hope Mizzell says most stations across the state have reported between 100% and 225% of normal rainfall over the past 60 days. She says the most important factor ending the drought has been the State’s adequate rainfall for an  extended 5 month period. As of April 24, in the upstate, Anderson’s reporting station reported 9.71 inches of rain in the past 60 days.  That is 106% of normal rainfall.  Walhalla’s official rainfall for the past 60 days was 14 inches, which is 130% of normal rainfall. The last time the state was drought-free was June 2010 with only 10 total drought free months going back to July 2006. Drought episodes since the late 1990s have highlighted the importance of South Carolina’s coordinated state and local drought response.