Drought — Bath, Virginia

2023-11-01 · Bath, Virginia

Event narrative

Severe Drought conditions persisted across Bath County in November, with Exceptional Drought declared for the northeast corner of the county on November 7th. This occurred given precipitation from the beginning of October through mid-November was less than 25 percent of normal and, in the eastern part of the county, less than 10 percent of normal. NASA SPoRT LIS data estimated that average soil moisture in the top 100 cm of soil was around the 2nd percentile by the middle of the month, and deteriorating. Streamflows for the Bullpasture River and Back Creek were observed below the 10th percentiles by the middle of the month per the USGS WaterWatch website. There were no reported impacts to agriculture and livestock given the late time of the year. Due to the dryness, a burn ban was issued for Bath County on November 10th that continued through the end of the month.

Wider weather episode

A portion of central Virginia received between 25 and 40 percent of the 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 1149845. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.