Drought — Rockbridge, Virginia

2023-10-17 to 2023-10-31 · Rockbridge, Virginia

Event narrative

Severe Drought conditions were declared for most of Rockbridge County in October after another month of precipitation that was significantly below normal. The Cooperative Weather Observer at the Buena Vista (BUVV2) measured 1.01 inches of rainfall for the month, about 31 percent of the normal amount of 3.28 inches. Nearby, the Cooperative Weather Observer at the Lexington (LXGV2) measured 1.49 inches of rainfall for the month, about half of the normal amount of 3.06 inches. NASA SPoRT LIS data estimated that average soil moisture in the top 100 cm of soil between the 2nd and the 5th percentiles by the middle of the month. Streamflows for several rivers including the Maury River and the Calfpasture River were below the 10th percentiles by the end of the month per the USGS WaterWatch website. There were multiple reports from within the county of ranchers that had to supplement hay to their livestock because of the lack of available pasture grass.

Wider weather episode

Severe Drought conditions were introduced across the southern Shenandoah Valley after having been removed shortly after the rainfall from Tropical Storm Ophelia. The lack of rainfall contributed to a gradual decrease in streamflows, groundwater and soil moisture in this region. Impacts on remaining crop harvest were variable depending on crop and location, with one notable impact being a lack of growth of pasture grasses, forcing ranchers to begin feeding hay to livestock more and/or earlier than they normally might. Wildland fire activity increased given the combination of dry fuels and the seasonal loss of leaf cover/canopy which allowed surface fuels to dry out more readily.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1145862. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.