Drought — Stokes, North Carolina

2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Stokes, North Carolina

Event narrative

Severe Drought conditions were declared for most of Stokes County on November 14th given precipitation from the beginning of October through mid-November was between 25 and 30 percent of normal for a large portion of the county. The Cooperative Weather Observer at Danbury, NC (DNBN7) measured only 0.81 inches of precipitation for that 6-week period. NASA SPoRT LIS data estimated that average soil moisture in the top 100 cm of soil was below the 2nd percentile by the middle of the month, and deteriorating. Streamflow for the Dan River near Francisco was below the 10th percentile per the USGS WaterWatch website during the middle of the month. There were no reported impacts to agriculture and livestock given the late time of the year.

Wider weather episode

A portion of northwest North Carolina received between 25 and 40 percent of their normal rainfall from the beginning of October through much of November, resulting in an expansion of Severe Drought conditions into this area. The lack of rainfall contributed to a gradual decrease in river and creek stream flows, groundwater and soil moisture across the northwest portion of the state. Impacts on remaining crop harvest were minimal given the growing season had ended with the onset of cooler weather. However, one notable impact was a lack of growth of pasture grasses, forcing ranchers to begin feeding hay to livestock more so and/or earlier than they normally might. The threat of Wildland fire activity was increased during the month 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 1149756. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.