A drought months in the making does not disappear in a matter of days. However, July has helped.
In recent months, we’ve covered drought conditions, burn bans, water restrictions and abysmal lake levels.
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While we’re not completely out of the woods, July has brought signs of hope.
So far, rainfall this month has far exceeded the combined total from January through June — all without a landfalling tropical system.
And we’ve done all this without any landfalling tropical systems.
We still need more rain to completely get rid of the drought. And a shift in the pattern may just be what the doctor ordered.
By now, you’ve heard plenty about El Niño. This year’s El Niño is forecast to be exceptionally strong, if not record-breaking.
El Niño implies a more active storm track in the Southern and Eastern U.S., which could lead to more opportunities in the weeks and months ahead.
We’ve seen signs of that shift so far this July.
Whereas high pressure has led to hot and dry conditions in recent months, it’s now shifted toward the Western U.S., while frequent fronts deliver waves of rain here at home.
It’s not just been rain, though. We’ve had our fair share of severe storms that have led to downed trees, power lines, lightning damage and flooding.
Meteorologist Kat Campbell says that level two risks for severe weather have an 85% verification rate so far this month.
The most recent example of that came Tuesday evening, when storms caused damage and even killed a man in Raleigh.
The hope moving forward is that we can cash in on opportunities for drought-busting rain while avoiding cleanup in the process.