Drought — Bedford, Virginia

2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Bedford, Virginia

Event narrative

Severe Drought conditions spread to include all of Bedford County on July 2nd after the previous 30 days of precipitation were observed to be between 0.50 and 1.50 inches with locally higher amounts, or generally less than 25 percent of normal. The CoCoRaHS observer at Bedford 2.5 ENE (VA-BD-38) observed a rainfall total of 1.29 inches for the 30-day period, while the CoCoRaHS observer at Montvale 0.4 N observed a 30-day total of 0.88 inches. NASA SPoRT LIS data estimated that average soil moisture in the top 100 cm of soil was between the 5th and 20th percentiles by July 2nd, 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 continued to be impacted by the dry conditions, with stunted growth of most corn across the county. Hay production was also increasingly impacted, with grasses in many pastures becoming dormant due the combination of dryness and abnormally high warmth. Improvements in drought conditions to D1: Moderate Drought were noted for most of the county by the end of July as a stalled front provided the focus for daily showers and thunderstorms.

Wider weather episode

Severe Drought conditions expanded to include most of the NWS Blacksburg service area by the middle of July after roughly 45 days of precipitation totals that were between 25 and 50 percent of normal. Daytime temperatures were an average of 2 to 5 degrees above normal during the period, and the number of hours of daylight per day were the highest of the year, 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 by the middle of July. The 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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1203007. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.