Drought — Bedford, Virginia

2024-06-25 to 2024-06-30 · Bedford, Virginia

Event narrative

Severe Drought conditions were declared for the eastern half of Bedford County on June 25th after the previous 30 days of precipitation were observed to be between 0.75 and 1.50 inches with locally higher amounts, or between 20 and 40 percent of normal. The CoCoRaHS observer at Bedford 2.5 ENE (VA-BD-38) on the western fringe of the area identified as under severe drought observed a rainfall total of 1.80 inches for the 30-day period. NASA SPoRT LIS data estimated that average soil moisture in the top 100 cm of soil was between the 5th and 20th percentiles by the 25th, and deteriorating, while streamflows across the eastern half of the county, including in Goose Creek near Huddleston, were observed to be below the 10th percentile per the USGS WaterWatch website. Crop production was quickly becoming impacted by the dry conditions, with stunted growth of most corn across the county. Hay production was also becoming heavily impacted, with grasses in many pastures becoming dormant due the combination of dryness and abnormally high warmth.

Wider weather episode

Severe Drought conditions were introduced across the southern Shenandoah Valley due to the development of flash drought in the area after near-normal precipitation during May. Thirty-day rainfall totals were observed to be between 20 and 30 percent of normal between May 27th and June 25th, with totals ranging between 1 and 2 inches. Daytime temperatures were an average of 2 to 4 degrees above normal during the period, and the number of hours of daylight per day were the highest of the year as the summer solstice approached, both of which maximized evapotranspiration. These conditions contributed to a rapid decrease in streamflows, groundwater and soil moisture in this region, where observed values for each had fallen below the 10th percentile for the end of June. The flash drought occurred at a critical time for crop growth, severely impacting corn and hay production among other crops. Ranchers reported most pasture grasses had wilted and gone dormant due to the dry conditions, forcing ranchers to begin feeding hay to their livestock. For context as to how quickly growing conditions deteriorated, the USDA Crop Progress and Condition report for Virginia released on June 9th identified crop conditions for all crops to be 60% to 80% in the Good range, 20% to 40% in the Fair range, and less than 5% in the Poor range. For the report released on the 23th however, conditions had deteriorated to less than 50% in the Good range for most crops, between 20 % and 50% in the Fair range, and up to 30% in the Poor range.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1193661. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.