Drought in Oconee Mountains, South Carolina

Unseasonably dry and warm conditions continued across western portions of Upstate South Carolina through much of November, until a cold front brought good rainfall to the area during the last couple of days of the month. Up until that point, most locations had little more than a half inch of rain for the month, and this resulted in expansion and deterioration of drought conditions farther northeast into the remainder of the mountains, foothills, and northern Piedmont. Total rainfall from May until the end of November ranged only from 12-15 inches across this area, which is less than half of the normal amount. Being that the growing season was more or less over by this point, agricultural impacts were not as great as earlier in the year. Nevertheless, water levels on area reservoirs and stream flows on waterways remained well below normal, and voluntary water restrictions remained in place in some communities.