Drought in Amherst, Virginia

Drought conditions in place at the beginning of the month improved for the southern two thirds of the county on December 12th due to the passage of two low pressure systems crossing the lower Mid-Atlantic during the period of December 3rd to the 10th. These systems brought rainfall amounts ranging from 2.25 to 2.75 inches, resulting in an increase in soil moisture, surface stream flows, and ground water levels sufficient to allow Severe Drought conditions for the southern two thirds of the county to be improved to Moderate Drought per the U.S. Drought Monitor. The northern third of the county improved to Moderate Drought conditions the following week due to additional precipitation across the county ranging from 1 to 1.5 inches. No additional changes occurred during the remainder of the month. Precipitation totals for the county for December ranged from five inches to locally six inches. The precipitation moistened leaf litter and other fuels that support wildland fire activity. There was no reported impacts to agriculture in December, with some farmers reporting that the lack of soggy ground make work in the fields easier to accomplish.

The passage of multiple low pressure systems near the Mid-Atlantic during the month of December brought abundant precipitation to central and western portions of Virginia, much of which fell as rain, through also with modest amounts of wintry precipitation. Precipitation totals varied generally from 2.5 to 3 inches near the state border with West Virginia to widespread five to six inches for most of the Piedmont. Localized totals in excess of seven inches were recorded near the crest of the Blue Ridge in Patrick County. These precipitation totals were less than 75 percent of normal across the upper Clinch and Bluestone River basins in Tazewell County. However, most of the remainder of western and central Virginia observed amounts ranging from 100 percent to 150 percent, with locally higher amounts. This made for vast improvements in local stream flows, ground water levels and soil moisture across the service area from their peak dryness in mid-November. As such, where Severe Drought conditions were in place across most of the western and central portions of the state at the beginning of the month, conditions improved to a combination of Moderate Drought and Abnormally Dry conditions, leaving only the northeast corner of Bath County in Severe Drought status by the end of the month.